Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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09KARACHI130 | 2009-04-14 04:15:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Consulate Karachi |
VZCZCXRO8825 OO RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHKP #0130/01 1040415 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 140415Z APR 09 FM AMCONSUL KARACHI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1030 INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0487 RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0264 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0307 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1852 RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 2710 RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4593 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000130 |
and police contacts, there have been four petrol bomb attacks on Pashtun-owned businesses in Sindh. Police sources accused members of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), historically a Mohajir-based political party, of planning the attacks and fear an escalation of ethnic violence as a result. Sindh Awami National Party (ANP) President Shahi Syed told Post that, in his role as head of the "Pashtun Jirga," he plans to hold an incendiary May 12 rally in Karachi to denounce the MQM. Sindh's Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad held an April 1 meeting with governing coalition partners ANP, MQM and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders to discuss friction between them. There is still much time to head off any ethnic strife that could lead to violence in the city. End summary. Petrol Bomb Attacks -------------------------- 2. (C) On March 31, 2009, according to media reports confirmed by RSO sources, four armed men on motorbikes threw petrol bombs at Pashtun-owned businesses in the city of Mirpur Khas, (an MQM dominated city about four hours north of Karachi in interior Sindh). The shops immediately caught fire and the destruction spread to other shops in the area. Shortly thereafter, large numbers of Pashtuns, armed with clubs, set fire to tires and blocked streets. Police and Rangers were deployed to quell the unrest. By April 1, officials had restored order in the city. 3. (C) This is the fourth incident of a petrol bomb attack against Pashtun-owned businesses in Sindh over the last two weeks. Two attacks were carried out in Karachi (one in Quaidabad and one in Qasba Colony) and one in Hyderabad, where some shops were gutted and, subsequently, Pashtun protesters torched the car of a MQM Union Council member, according to media reports and police sources. Police Blame MQM -------------------------- 4. (C) Officially, police claim they have found no evidence of MQM involvement in the attacks. Privately, police sources told Post they believe MQM, historically a Mohajir-based political party, is responsible and they are preparing for conflict between the MQM and Pashtun community in general and Pashtun-dominated Awami National Party (ANP) in particular. (Comment: Police did not offer any evidence to substantiate this accusation. End comment.) MQM Asks GOP to Search for Taliban -------------------------- 5. (C) MQM has asked the federal government to search Karachi's neighborhoods for Taliban elements, which would involve a number of Pashtun dominated areas in Karachi. MQM Provincial Assembly member Faisal Subzwari told Post that he believed the majority of Taliban in the city are hiding in Pashtun-dominated areas. ANP, he claimed, had not supported the call to search for Taliban, which he further claimed were threatening the city. Subzwari accused the ANP of playing the "politics of ethnicity" to avoid alienating its voter base. MQM Denies It Plans to Instigate Strife -------------------------- 6. (C) Subzawari said he was sure MQM could curb any violence that might result from ethnic tensions and assured Post that his party would not start any problems. He held out hope that the coalition partners ANP, PPP, and MQM could work together to combat any extremist threat to the Pakistan's mega-city. (See septel April 11 conversation KARACHI 00000130 002 OF 002 between Karachi's MQM Mayor Mustafa Kamal and the Ambassador.) ANP Issues Threat -------------------------- 7. (C) Sindh ANP President Shahi Syed told Post on April 1 that the "Pashtun Loya Jirga" (which he also leads) plans to have a May 12 gathering at Nishtar Park, about 5 kilometers from ConGen Karachi, to condemn MQM actions that he claimed led to the May 12, 2007 violence surrounding the visit to Karachi of then-deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. According to him, the rally will be held to "show MQM who the city belongs to." (Comment: No party has ever been formally charged with inciting the riots. End comment.) Comment -------------------------- 8. (C) Post believes that tension between the MQM and the Pashtun community has escalated. Both parties are equally at fault. MQM leaders have consistently raised the specter of Talibanization as a consequence of the rapid growth of Karachi's Pashtun community (refs A, B). Pashtun community leaders have called for a May 12 rally that has the potential to enrage MQM supporters. In November 2008, the city was shaken by ethnic violence between the city's MQM-allied Mohajir community and Pashtuns (estimated at 3 - 4 million of the city's 18 million inhabitants) in several impoverished neighborhoods (ref C). 9. (C) However, there is some evidence the leaders of both communities are aware of the problem and are making efforts to resolve the tension. After an April 1 meeting, moderated by Sindh Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad, MQM, ANP and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders announced plans to hold a peace rally on an unspecified date. The planned May 12 rally is still some time away, and the MQM and ANP could work out their differences by then, given such advance notice. FAKAN |