SINDH - MQM TELLS KARACHI RESIDENTS TO ARM AGAINST

C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000477 USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK SUBJECT: SINDH - MQM TELLS KARACHI RESIDENTS TO ARM AGAINST TALIBAN REF: REF: KARACHI 426 Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL KAY ANSKE, REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 8, Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain advised residents of two upscale Karachi communities to arm themselves against an impending takeover by Taliban forces. MQM critics accused Hussain of trying to exacerbate an ethnic dispute with the city's Pashtun community, pointing out similar advice given by Hussain in 1987 that served as the precursor to bloody ethnic disputes in the 1990s. MQM plans to meet Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) representatives to discuss disparities between the MQM and PPP positions on the extent of the Taliban threat to the city. Post's view is that Hussain has exaggerated the threat for political reasons. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Karachi news media on August 10 quoted Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) political party leader Altaf Hussain as advising residents of the city's upscale Clifton and Defense residential areas to purchase firearms to defend their homes from a Taliban onslaught. Hussain, speaking via conference call from self-imposed exile in London to a gathering of area residents on August 8, was quoted as committing his party, MQM, to the fight against the Islamic extremists. He called on Karachi citizens to join with MQM in the effort. Hussain also suggested that residents form vigilante committees and called on youth to obtain self-defense training. ¶3. (U) Another news report featured an August 9 press release from Dr. Qadir Magsi, Chairman of the nationalist Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, accusing Hussain of trying to incite ethnic riots. According to the report, Magsi said that Hussain in 1987 had urged Urdu-speaking Pakistanis to sell their televisions, radios and refrigerators and use the proceeds to buy weapons. (Note: The MQM draws much of its support from the Urdu-speaking community that came to Pakistan from India at the time of partition. End note.) ¶4. (C) Majyd Aziz, an industrialist, told PolOff on August 11 that he had attended the August 8 meeting. He relayed that Hussain did indeed advise residents of the upscale communities to obtain weapon permits and buy firearms to protect their neighborhoods from the Taliban. Aziz said that he asked Hussain why MQM was claiming a significant Taliban infiltration in Karachi when its coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) had publicly stated the opposite. Hussain told Aziz that MQM leaders planned to meet with PPP officials to discuss the disparity in their public positions on this issue. ¶5. (C) Another leading business figure, Aziz Memon, told PolOff that he had been invited to attend the conference call with Hussain, but declined the invitation. He said that the MQM has had a long-standing rivalry with the Pashtun community. Memon added that he regarded the latest MQM warnings of Talibanization as a political move designed to galvanize public support behind the party. ¶6. (C) Comment: Post believes that, although Taliban elements are certainly present in Karachi, the MQM leader is overstating the current threat to the city. At a July 5 gathering, Hussain warned Karachi business and civic leaders of impending "Talibanization" of the city as the result of an influx of Pashtun refugees and invited business leaders to join his party in resisting them (reftel). By alarming the business community and influential citizens and presenting the party as the defender of the city against Islamic extremists, MQM may well be attempting to boost its political influence in Karachi at the expense of the growing Pashtun community. Anske