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 , nativenamea = , nativenamer = , commonname = , abbreviation = SP , fictional = , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = Sindh Police Logo.png , logocaption = , badg ...

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 th ...

, with an additional assistance from the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the 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 British India, which occurred as a result ...

and its related intelligence agencies. Planned by the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

, Intelligence Bureau and launched the directives of Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, 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 minister of Pak ...

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 c ...

city of "anti-social" elements. The program targeted the Muttahida Qaumi Movement 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 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (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 ...

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 ...

General

Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...

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. ...

. MQM took part in local government elections 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 Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...

government of

General

. 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. 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 mo ...

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 , nativenamea = , nativenamer = , commonname = , abbreviation = SP , fictional = , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = Sindh Police Logo.png , logocaption = , badg ...

opened fire on ''

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...

'' 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, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

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 government led by

. During this time, violence arose with the disagreements between one faction led by

Afaq Ahmed Afaq Ahmed ( ur, ; born March 22, 1962) is a Pakistani politician who is the founder and leader of Muhajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) (MQM-H), a break-away faction of the much larger than Muhajir Qaumi Movement which later became Muttahida Qaumi ...

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 governmen ...

of the Intelligence Bureau,

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. ...

(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 Jinnahpur refers to a plot in Pakistan to form a breakaway autonomous state to serve as a homeland for the Muhajir people. Overview Mohajirs were refugees who moved to modern-day Pakistan from modern-day India during Partition of India in 1947. ...

affair and the Major Kaleem Case 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 Malir District ( sd, ) is an administrative district of Karachi Division in Sindh, Pakistan. Map of Karachi Division History Before the independence of Pakistan, there were small villages of Sindhi and Kalmati Baloch in the Gadap T ...

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 i ...

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 Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...

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 Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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,

(retired)

Naseerullah Babar Major-General Naseerullah Khan Babar (Urdu: نصیر اللہ خان بابر; born 1928 – 10 January 2011) was a Pakistani army officer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 28th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996. A membe ...

, 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 of

Abdullah shah Abdullah Shah (1965–2004) was an Afghan serial killer found guilty in Kabul of killing more than 20 people, including his wife. His sanctioned execution was the first in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Shah served und ...

, Interior minister

, 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 , nativenamea = , nativenamer = , commonname = , abbreviation = SP , fictional = , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = Sindh Police Logo.png , logocaption = , badg ...

managed by the PPP. Benazir Bhutto's steps towards the

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionari ...

did, however, bring some calm in Karachi by the spring of 1996. Over this issue,

Murtaza Bhutto Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he ear ...

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 The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

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 ''Asian Survey: A Bimonthly Review of Contemporary Asian Affairs'' is a bimonthly academic journal of Asian studies published by the University of California Press on behalf of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, ...

, 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 facul ...

Ethnicity and State Power in Pakistan: The Karachi Crisis
Moonis Ahmar,

, 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 lab ...

Police operations in Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif administration

Government of Benazir Bhutto Muttahida Qaumi Movement Persecution of Muhajirs

Background

Political dynamics in 1980s

Planning a military operation in Karachi

Operation Clean-up

Continuation of the operation

Halt and legacy

See also

References

External links