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 List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

program led by the

Sindh Police The Sindh Police (Urdu: , ), is a law enforcement agency established in 1843 under a proclamation issued by Sir Charles James Napier, who became the conqueror of the State of Sindh by defeating the forces of the Talpur rulers at the Battle of Mi ...

and

Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers () are a pair of paramilitary federal law enforcement corps' in Pakistan. The two corps are the Punjab Rangers (operating in Punjab province with headquarters in Lahore) and the Sindh Rangers (operating in Sindh province w ...

, with an additional assistance from the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and its related intelligence agencies. Planned by the FIA, Intelligence Bureau and launched the directives of Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

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

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

in 1993–1994, as part of her internal policies. Its objective was to cleanse

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

city of anti-social elements. The program targeted the Muttahida Qaumi Movement over the controversy regarding the alleged plan on having the city of Karachi and Hyderabad break away from the province of Sindh and be a province itself.

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 (; 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 (which is ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

General

Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also served as the second chief of ...

since its very early foundation in 1984, in a view to sideline the ''JeI'' in

and PPP in rural

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. Such claims had been dismissed by party's convener

Imran Farooq Imran Farooq (; 14 June 1960 – 16 September 2010) was a British-Pakistani politician best known senior role in the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political party in Pakistan. As a founding member of the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organ ...

. 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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

–

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

government of

General

. After

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

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 return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. 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 the return of mi ...

of ''Biharis'' from

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

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

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

" 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

opened fire on ''

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir (, '; 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 in a general s ...

'' locale in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

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

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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

(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 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 () is an administrative district of Karachi Division in Sindh, Pakistan created in 1996 by bifurcation of Gulshan District, District Karachi East. According to the 2023 Pakistani census, District Malir had a population of 2,419, ...

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 (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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 consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

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 Arm ...

(for ground support) and the ISI (on intelligence) was invited by Benazir Bhutto. The army's

search and destroy Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...

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 military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

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, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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 ter ...

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

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

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) 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 ac ...

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

Murtaza Bhutto 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 earned a ...

was notably gunned down in a

police encounter Encounter killings, often simply referred to as encounters, is a euphemism used in South Asia to refer to extrajudicial killings by security forces. The officers typically described the incidents as a shootout situation, often allegedly starting ...

with the Sindh Police. Within seven-week, President

Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (; 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 was the first Baloch to be elected as President. ...

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 (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

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 faculty ...

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 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 ...

Law enforcement operations in Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif administration

Government of Benazir Bhutto Muttahida Qaumi Movement Persecution of Muhajirs