Muttahida Qaumi Mahaz
Philosophy
MQM claims that official discrimination against Muhajirs began in 1958 when Muhammad Ayub Khan seized the presidency of Pakistan in a military coup. Ayub Khan systematically eliminated Mohajirs from important positions in the civil service, bureaucracy and local government. MQM accuses the subsequent administration of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of nationalizing Mohajir businesses, unfairly taxing them, and outlawing the use of Urdu by teachers and bureaucrats. MQM is strongly opposed to the domination of the rural population of the Sindh province by landed oligarchs, as well as the domination of the Sindh by Punjab, Pakistan's largest, wealthiest, and most populous province. This is also worthwhile to note that a majority of Muhajirs or Urdu-speaking population in Karachi do not like the underhand off-political agenda practiced by MQM in recent days. According to them, the motives on which the base of MQM was founded were all in place and unquestionable. Nevertheless, they beleive that MQM would do a lot to make better the still-present discrimination against Muhajirs if it had not been engaged in street crimes and other critical matters.
Current Goals
In 1992, MQM split into two factions. The majority faction, led by the founder Altaf Hussain, was renamed Muttahida Quomi Mahaz and is commonly referred to as MQM (A). The MQM (A) has become an exclusively political outfit. The smaller faction, MQM (H), retained the original name, Mohajir Qaumi Movement but added the suffix Haqiqi, which means "real". MQM (A) and MQM (H) are involved in a turf war in Karachi.
