Operation Clean-up, also known as Operation Blue Fox, was an armed

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

program led by the Sindh Police and

Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers ( ur, ) are a paramilitary federal law enforcement organization in Pakistan, operating under the authority of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan. Their primary purpose is to secure and defend sites of significance in the ...

, with an additional assistance from the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

and its related intelligence agencies. Planned by the FIA,

Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Bureau may refer to: * Intelligence Bureau (India) * Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan) * Intelligence agency See also *Intelligence Bureau for the East, a World War I German organisation *Intelligence agency *National Intelligence Servic ...

and launched the directives of Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

in 1992, the program was more strictly pursued by upcoming Prime Minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

in 1993–94, as part of her internal policies. Its objective was to "cleanse"

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city 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. It is the former cap ...

city of "anti-social" elements. The program targeted the

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Muttahida Qaumi Movement (abbreviated MQM) is a name currently claimed by two competing Pakistani political factions: * Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London, a political faction managed from the UK * Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan Muttah ...

over the controversy regarding the Jinnahpur plan— which supposedly planned on having the city of Karachi break away from Pakistan.

Background

Political dynamics in 1980s

The

(denoted as ''MQM'') is a centre-left and liberal political party which was founded in 1984 by its activist leader, Altaf Hussain who was a student at the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

in the 1970s. According to the memoirs of General Mirza Beg, the MQM had its support from

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

General Zia-ul-Haq since its very early foundation in 1984, in a view to sideline the ''JeI'' in

and PPP in rural

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. Such claims had been dismissed by party's convener

Imran Farooq Imran Farooq ( ur, ; 14 June 1960 – 16 September 2010) was a British-Pakistani politician who was best known for his association with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political party in Pakistan, of which he was a very senior member. H ...

. MQM took part in

local government elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

and participated well in 1985 general elections, initially becoming part of

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

– technocratic government of

General Zia-ul-Haq. After

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of President Zia-ul-Haq, MQM contested in 1988 general elections, acquiring considerable political leverage with 13 seats in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. MQM was part of PPP-led government of

but its repressive persuasion of

repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

of ''Biharis'' from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

camps soured the relations between each other. MQM went on to support the "

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

" against Benazir Bhutto which took the incumbency by surprise. As early as 1988–89, the political problems in Karachi began to arise and reached its climax in 1990 when Sindh Police opened fire on '' Muhajir'' locale in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

city. The ensuing violence led to the events dismissing Benazir Bhutto from the office. After coming in power as a result of 1990 general elections, the MQM re-demonstrated its political power in Sindh as part of the

IDA Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

government led by

. During this time, violence arose with the disagreements between one faction led by Afaq Ahmed and Altaf Hussain of MQM. MQM was later subdued by Nawaz Sharif in 1991 due to a brief clash of ideology.

Planning a military operation in Karachi

In 1992, a program's studies for an Army led operation in Karachi were concluded under the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

(retired) Imtiaz Ahmed as codename: Operation ''Clean-up'', recommending the protocol. On personal initiatives of Prime Minister

, ''Clean-up'' protocol was initiated under Imtiaz Ahmed and the

, focusing on taking measures against the decoits in rural

, not specific political parties. According to the sources, the program's protocol was to last six months, deadline was until June 1992.

Operation Clean-up

The program went in cold storage after Sharif was dismissed but again came in effect and revival after the 1993 general elections which saw

coming in power and MQM winning the provisional elections decisively. The proposal was put forward and Benazir Bhutto renamed the program's protocol as "''Blue Fox'' in 1993 and more aggressively persuade with the program. Among the reasons given for the launching of the ''Blue Fox'' were the Jinnahpur affair and the

Major Kaleem Case During sectarian violence in Pakistan, the Major Kaleem Case was the bedrock of many Pakistani governmental and military operations against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, especially Operation Clean-up. Several MQM leaders and workers were alleged t ...

in Karachi that occurred in 1993. The street fighting with the PPP continued in rural Karachi with the PPP's controversial decision of forming of Malir District in 1994.

Continuation of the operation

After the Nawaz government fell, the anti-MQM operation continued into the new Benazir Bhutto government. The army recognised that the program's protocol actually took place during the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of Prime Minister

. The diameter and focus of the program was widened to

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

when the 25th Mechanized Division of

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

(for ground support) and the

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

(on intelligence) was invited by Benazir Bhutto. The army's search and destroy operation led to the discovery of arm caches and torture chambers in elsewhere in Karachi. The gun and street fighting in Karachi increased the Muhajir Sindh violence.

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Naseer Akhtar and Major-General Safdar Ali Khan, assisting

Imtiaz Ahmed, directly reported to the government on the course of actions. In December 1993, Defence minister Aftab Mirani maintained that the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

operation in Sindh "will continue as long as it is needed." In a press release in January 1994, Interior Minister, Major-General (retired) Naseerullah Babar, added in that "Operation ''Clean-Up''" was likely to continue until June. During its final phases on 19 May 1994, Prime minister

chaired a meeting with

Chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Abdullah shah, Interior minister Naseerullah Babar, chief of army staff General Waheed Kakar and other key civilian and military officials at General Headquarters (GHQ) to decide on the modalities of Operation Clean-up in Sindh; operation to be carried out by the Army Rangers with full backing by the Army.

Halt and legacy

Ending in 1994, the period is regarded as the bloodiest period in Karachi's history, with thousands killed or gone missing in the fighting. In May 1995, arm clashes again broke out between the MQM and the Sindh Police managed by the PPP. Benazir Bhutto's steps towards the counterinsurgency did, however, bring some calm in Karachi by the spring of 1996. Over this issue, Murtaza Bhutto was notably gunned down in a

police encounter A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

with the Sindh Police. Within seven-week, President

Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected a ...

dismissed the government of

, primarily charging the issue of Murtaza Bhutto and the killings of MQM workers. MQM again participated well in 1997 general elections and redemonstrated its political leverage in the parliament. Furthermore, the program came to its final halt in end years of 1996 after the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto's government. Although over 30 years have passed since the arrests or disappearance of MQM workers, families of the missing people have registered cases in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and are still searching for their loved ones.

References

External links

Rise of the MQM in Pakistan: Politics of Ethnic Mobilization
Farhat Haq, Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 11 (Nov. 1995), pp. 990–1004,

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

Ethnicity and State Power in Pakistan: The Karachi Crisis
Moonis Ahmar, Asian Survey, Vol. 36, No. 10 (Oct. 1996), pp. 1031–1048, Published by:

A History of Pakistan and its Origins
pg 35, Christophe Jaffrelot
"What happened to the 92 cops who disappeared after 1992?"
{{Inter-Services Intelligence History of Pakistan History of Sindh (1947–present) Muhajir history Political repression in Pakistan Politics of Karachi

Clean-up Cleanup, clean up or clean-up may refer to: * Cleanup (animation), a stage of animation workflow * Clean-up (environment), environmental action to remove litter from a place * Cleanup hitter, a baseball position * Clean-up Records, a record label ...

Police operations in Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif administration

Government of Benazir Bhutto Muttahida Qaumi Movement Persecution of Muhajirs