Month of the Gun

Nadeem,

A light-hearted article with stRong msg abt Karachi and its people.

Well, is this:

`The politics of ideas was not working in sidelining the gun-toting IJT thugs. So I joined the `secular` and `liberal` gun-toting thugs`:

still true?

As a Karachi-ite u know it better!

``Oh, boy,`` I say. My father looks at me. ``These guys,`` I tell my father, ``they still don`t know what Karachi is about.``


An eye opener for people who dont know the ground realities of the city and the reasons behind its support of MQM. You provide a very interesting comparison of 1989 and 2007. thank you!

I read somewhere that you shut down ``the arousal`` because of threats from mqm guys?

I do agree with this article, and it was interesting reading your comments from 1989, however what these guys did on May 12 was still a massive chutiyapa, won`t stop me from voting for them though.

wow... i have read some of your other stuff (and often lived to regret it ) but this is pretty spectacular. Its so hard for people who dont live in khi to understand why non ethnic chauvanists, non violent people, feminist, leftist secularitsts vote the MQM even after all their fuckups ....maybe this will clarify things a little. On the other hand maybe not, maybe its something you just have to live through like you said. Kudos on a great post.

So, I see four posts apologizing for the douchebaggery of MQM. I lived in one of the most volatile neighborhoods of the city and had seen it personally, how MQM was unleashed with military vans escorting them. How in Landhi, Afaq Bhai ran torture jails to drill holes in the skulls of Altaf Bhai`s opponents and how later he was coopted by Pakistan Army and ISI to bring up MQM Haqeeqi. Karachi is a magnificently fucked up city. That doesn`t make thugs (islami, army(intel agencies), muhajir, land mafia etc.) running amok on the streets of that city looking less monstrous.

Raw then maybe you were also around when middle class nonpolitical urdu speaking guys in karachi had holes drilled into their knee caps as part of a limited govt sponsored genocide ...yes it is all fucked up. Doesnt everyone hate violence and murder?
But lets not keep pretending MQM are the worstest ever and everyone else is doodh main dhulla hua. There is another side of the argument and contrary to public opinion it wouldn`t make anyone a lesser person to understand that. Some people just want to run with the fox news version. Life isnt that simple.

That brought back some fond memories. I really miss those gunfights. I used to own a gold plated .32 automatic, made in Spain, named Llama, which was gifted to me by the father of a friend. A bullet casing was stuck in its chamber and could not be pulled out unless machined on a lathe. I removed the bullet in the college workshop but could not machine a grove back in the first one inch of the barrel. College workshop didn`t have a groving tool. I was told that it might explode in my face but it never did. I was also told not to have such a conspicuous piece on me but at that time I considered it beneath me to own a made in Darra weapon; I used to smoke Marlborough in those days, how could I.

#5: ``MQM are the worstest ever``

MQM had been and still are the worst thing that altaf and army done to karachi. They were the worst thanks to excess drug-money and kalashankovs coming from army`s venture in afghan jihad inc.

Now, the next big project for the khaki fukwads apparently is to sell their schtick with Allah affixed on it.

And by the way, you have no argument. This post was done solely as a favor, consider it as such.

Straw dust never mind. If you want to believe in a totally one sided version of the reality of karachi thats obviously your own buisness. Yes karachi has been destroyed by the MQM thats why a bunch of ninjabi`s can attack police officers and other women and hold them hostage ...oops sorry wrong city...thats why sunni and shia`s are attacking themselves...oh actually thats not true either....er- is this where babers are not allowed to cut mens beards? is it where female literacy is 2 %? ....when was the last gang rape to avenge a families honour?

You are so right. The MQM is the worst thing thats ever happened to anyone. :) And if you think there is no argument to be made for the MQM then kindly explain why they keep being elected? How come functionally noone in karachi respects your point of view?

Your last post was a ``favor`` to me ? Odd. How do you repay a favor you have no value for? I thought i`d repay you with logic, clearly a thing you have no value for in your current irrational mindset.

“On reaching Lahore I stay at the house of one of my mother`s closest cousins, who is married to the daughter of the former Editor of the Dawn, the late Ahmed Ali Khan.”

So Khudaja Mustoor and Hajira Masroor are related to the narrattor. I think they have a better name recognition than Ahmed Ali Khan.

``Oh, boy,`` I say. My father looks at me. ``These guys,`` I tell my father, ``they still don`t know what Karachi is about.``

So after almost 20 years you think people don’t know what Karachi is all about than obviously you stopped growing up politically twenty years ago.

There is nothing in Karachi or in MQM that cannot be understood.

Rule # 1. Understand the Upian communalism and insecurities.

Rule # 2. The economic and cultural conflict with the rest of the Pakistani nationalities especially Sindhis.

Rule # 3. A violent confrontational streak nurtured by the centuries old Hindus and Muslims contentious relationship in central Indian provinces especially UP and Bihar.

Rule # 4. A Close knit group which shares the belief that only their kind can provide leadership to them. In other words, they look down on other groups in Pakistan.

interesting artikul. Karachi has many voices and many faces. Support for mqm is a reality for better or worse. What happened on May 12 is deplorable and MQM needs to be severely chastised for it. But like the mullah brigade, pakistan is better off with mqm as part of the system and not outside of it. Alternative to MQM are the likes of urstruly, chacha boom boom etc. A scary proposition indeed.
What Raw says does have merit but I wonder what kind of present for karachi he imagines if there weren`t any MQM.
More pitch battles between ppp/jamaat/anp jiyalaas and muNh kalas...

Re: # 10
lol@ straw dust and ninjabis..cb you go girl.you write the best when you are angry.

I think,till there are elections on a somewhat regular basis, which seems to be far away, the reality of ethnic parties should be accepted;whether they are fascist or otherwise. It seems to be a long shot for voters to trust national parties or vote on some sort of agenda cutting across ethnic lines when the political machinery is not stable.

rahul:
just a little correction.. mqm is not a ethnic party..
how can ppl from gujrat, deccan, mp, up, bihar, rajisthan etc be considered an ethnicity...
even moreso now since M stands for muttahida and they have members from all backgrounds including religious minorities.

Aasif:I stand corrected. I modify my original point to-voters would vote for a party which they consider their own. One other factor is, if one sees how many mafia dons get ticket of political parties, win and become ministers in UP and Bihar, its quite obvious that when law and order is poor, people instead of voting for good samaritans would instead vote for parallel centers of power. There is nothing very undemocratic about it.People should get over it and instead of trying to persecute MQM now focus on how to have elections.