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 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 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.

Background

On 14 May, a dispute between different ethnic groups of students over special exam quotas escalated into clashes that spread to the entire city center and resulted in the deaths of three people and a curfew which was enforced for eleven days. On the eleventh day, 25 May, the government sent the police, consisting of several forces from predominantly rural districts surrounding Hyderabad, to Pucca Qila, a muhajir dominated neighborhood, where they attempted to establish a police station within the walls of the citadel and to clear it of weapons. The police besieged the area, closed off all exits, entered houses in search of weaponry and shot at people breaking curfew and leaving their houses. Gun battles broke out between the police and MQM militants who had arrived to lift the siege and local MQM party workers who attempted to resist the searches, leading to an escalation of tension in Pucca Qila area. As a result of the siege, the water supply from the water tower in the citadel was cut off, disrupting the water supply in large sections of Hyderabad.

Massacre

On May 27, 10 o'clock, a rally of Muhajir women and children started marching from Latifabad to demand the restoration of water supply in Pucca Qila and lift of the 300 hour long siege. The procession, when challenged to stop, dared the police to open fire, because they were carrying the Holy Quran on our heads. The police opened fire, causing a stampede, with the muhajir women and children rushing into the Abdul Wahab Shah Jilani Shrine for shelter. Twenty-four ambulances arrived and carried off the dead and the wounded to nearby hospitals, first to Bhitai Hospital-which had only one operation theatre, so that the surgeons were obliged to operate in the corridors and then move the victims to the St. Elizabeth and Mohammadi hospitals. The massacre and siege ended when Pakistan Army moved into Hyderabad and dismissed the PPP-led government.

Aftermath

Protests

Protests broke out after the massacre where slogans of death were chanted to the administration, the President, Prime Minister, and the police.

Demands for judicial inquiry

* On 27 May 2017, the 27th anniversary of Pucca Qila,

Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) ( ur, MQM-P) is a Social liberal Muhajir nationalist Secular political party. The leader of the party is Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The party's symbol is the kite. It is mostly active in Karachi where up t ...

demanded an independent inquiry into the 1990 Hyderabad Pucca Qila tragedy.

Ouster of Benezir Bhutto

The massacre resulted in a rift between

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 ...

and COAS

Mirza Aslam Beg General Mirza Aslam Beg ( ur, ; born 2 August 1931), also known as M. A. Beg, was a Pakistan Army officer, who served as the 3rd Chief of Army Staff from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when hi ...

and Altaf Hussain and that resulted in President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and General Beg dismissing Bhutto from office.

References

{{Reflist Massacres of ethnic groups 1990 crimes in Pakistan 20th-century mass murder in Pakistan Massacres in 1990 Mass murder in Sindh Hyderabad, Sindh May 1990 events in Asia May 1990 crimes Massacres in Pakistan