Karachi is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Sindh. It is the largest city in Pakistan and the 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the capital of Pakistan. Ranked as a beta-global city, it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre, with an estimated GDP of over $200 billion (PPP) as of 2021. Karachi is a metropolitan city and is considered Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, and among the country's most linguistically, ethnically-, and religiously-diverse regions, as well as one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal cities.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), previously known as Muhajir Qaumi Movement, is a secular political party in Pakistan that was founded by Altaf Hussain in 1984. Currently the party is split between 2 main factions. MQM-London faction is controlled by Altaf Hussain from London, while MQM-Pakistan is run by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui based in Pakistan. Its electoral symbol was a kite.
Altaf Hussain is a British Pakistani politician who is known as the founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He holds United Kingdom citizenship and has been living in exile in the UK since the start of Operation Clean-up. Since 2015, he has been a fugitive from the Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan on the charges of murder, targeted killing, treason, inciting violence and hate speech. He went on trial in the UK in January 2022 for promoting terrorism and unrest through hate speech in Pakistan, and was acquitted the next month. He had fled the country in 1992 after a crackdown against his party was launched.
Lyari is a historic locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the most densely-populated part of Karachi, and is one of its earliest settled areas.
Manghopir Town, is a neighbourhood in the Orangi District of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, that previously was a part of Gadap Town until 2011, now it is one of the three towns of Orangi District of Karachi.
Sardar Nabil Ahmed Gabol is a Pakistani politician who has been a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since 2024. Previously he had been a member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2015 and a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. He served as Minister of State for Ports and Shipping from 2008 to 2011 and as Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Assembly from 1993 to 1996.
Sardar Abdul Rehman Baloch alias Rehman Dakait was a Pakistani gangster based in Karachi's Lyari neighbourhood who formed the Peoples' Aman Committee. In urban Karachi, he is a mythical figure from the feared but not talked about underworld. Dakait was a cousin of Sardar Uzair Jan Baloch, who is in the custody of law enforcement.
There are or have been a number of separatist movements in Pakistan based on ethnic and regional nationalism, that have agitated for independence, and sometimes fighting the Pakistan state at various times during its history. As in many other countries, tension arises from the perception of minority/less powerful ethnic groups that other ethnicities dominate the politics and economics of the country to the detriment of those with less power and money. The government of Pakistan has attempted to subdue these separatist movements.
The ethnic groups in Karachi includes all the ethnic groups in Pakistan. Karachi's inhabitants, locally known as Karachiites, are composed of ethno-linguistic groups from all parts of Pakistan, as well as migrants from South Asia, making the city's population a diverse melting pot. At the end of the 19th century, the population of the city was about 105,000, with a gradual increase over the next few decades, reaching more than 400,000 on the eve of independence. Estimates of the population range from 15 to 18 million, of which an estimated 30% are migrants from different backgrounds. The city's population is estimated to be growing at about 5% per year, including an estimated 45,000 migrant workers coming to the city every month from different parts of Pakistan.
The cultural history of Karachi goes back at least five thousand years to the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization in the third millennium BC. The early culture is mostly Neolithic with widespread usage of small cart implements and semi-precious stones. The many megalithic Arab graves around Karachi gave evidence towards megalithic movements of the Arabian Peninsula.
Pakistan is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The major Pakistani ethnolinguistic groups include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Gujjar, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochs, Paharis and Brahuis, with significant numbers of Baltis, Kashmiris, Chitralis, Shina, Kohistanis, Torwalis, Hazaras, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis, Uzbeks, Nuristanis, Pamiris, Hindkowans, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uyghurs and other various minorities.
Karachi is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan. The population of Karachi is estimated to be around 16 million (16,093,786) in 2020. The population and demographic distribution in the megacity has undergone numerous changes over the past 150 years. On 14 August 1947, when it became the capital city of Pakistan, its population was about 450,000 inhabitants However, the population rapidly grew with large influx of Muslim refugees after independence in 1947. By 1951, the city population had crossed one million mark. in the following decade, the rate of growth of Karachi was over 80 percent. Today, the city has grown 60 times its size in 1947 when it became the country's first capital. Although, Islamabad remains the nation's capital since the 1960s, the city's population continues to grow at about 5% per annum, largely thanks to its strong economic base.
The Muhajir people are Muslim immigrants of various ethnic groups and regional origins, and their descendants, who migrated from various regions of India after the 1947 independence to settle in the newly independent state of Pakistan. The community includes those immigrants' descendants, most of whom are settled in Karachi and other major urban centres of Pakistan.
The Politics of Karachi takes place at the municipal, provincial and federal levels of the government. Karachi is a multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural and multireligious metropolitan city. The demographics of Karachi are important as most politics in Karachi is driven by ethnic politics.
Targeted killings in Pakistan have been a rising form of violence and have contributed to security instability in the country. They have become common and have gained attention especially in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, economic capital and capital city of the Sindh province. Several targeted killings have also occurred in Quetta, the capital of the southern province of Balochistan. Police and law enforcement agencies have sometimes come under criticism for their ineffectiveness in locating the perpetrators and investigating their motives. For most part, targeted killings in Karachi have been attributed to political, religious and ethnic reasons. There are speculations about the killing but no real proof has been found against any party.
The Peoples' Aman Committee was an alleged militant group tied to the Pakistan People's Party and based in Karachi, Pakistan. The PAC was founded by the infamous Karachi gangster Rehman Dakait in 2008 and is accused of being involved in organized crime and gang wars. After Rehman's death in 2009, leadership of the group was taken over by Uzair Baloch.
Uzair Jan Baloch is a Pakistani gangster and former crime lord originally from Karachi, Pakistan. He was a key figurehead of Karachi underworld and notorious gang war in his hometown, Lyari, at his peak around 2012. Baloch is accused in various cases involving murder, extortion, drug trafficking, terrorism, and after being arrested many times, became a fugitive wanted by law enforcement agencies. Due to his influential ties, it is alleged that Baloch enjoyed political patronage and was "protected" by the ruling PPP from facing charges but was eventually nabbed after intervention of federal authorities. Baloch denies all the charges against him and says they are "politically motivated". He is also the former chief of the Peoples Aman Committee, which was a militant group linked to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Following is a list of incidents that have been identified as ethnicity related riots or massacres in Sindh province of Pakistan, particularly in between the 1980's and 1990's.
Pucca Qila Operation was an operation launched by Sindh Police on the orders PPP led Sindh government against MQM party workers and ordinary protesters in the Pucca Qila area of Hyderabad city. The operation resulted in the deaths of more than 70 people, including men, women and children. The incident resulted in the dismissal of the Benazir Bhutto government by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, allegedly on the orders of Pakistan army.
The second MQM insurrection referred to an insurrection by MQM, a political and militant organisation representing Muhajir people which launched an insurrection in 1978 against Sindh government as well as multiple other opponents. This insurrection was suppressed by Pakistan army in the Operation Cleanup. In 1994, after the military's withdrawal, MQM launched another wave of anti-state, sectarian and ethnic violence. Its intensity died down following Operation Lyari and Karachi targeted action. The 2015 Nine-Zero raids saw several key MQM leaders arrested and the beginning of a crackdown on the party. Another crackdown in August 22, 2016 saw the closure party headquarters near 90 Azizabad, Khursheed Memorial Hall, MPA Hostel, and Jinnah Park, the arrest of other MQM leaders and "marked the end of the story for the party founder, Altaf." of In 2016 the Muttahida movement began to fragment, seeing the rise of MQM-Pakistan and other breakaway factions like the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), MQM-PIB colony and MQM-Bahadurabad factions. The original faction becoming known as MQM-London.
