Pucca Qila Operation
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| Pucca Qila Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Standort | Hyderabad, Sindh |
| Date | 27 May 1990 |
| Deaths | 162+[1] |
| Victims | Muhajirs |
| Perpetrators | Pakistan Peoples Party |
Pucca Qila Massacre was a coordinated massacre of Muhajir civilians conducted by Sindh police on the orders of the PPP-led Sindh Government. The massacre resulted in the deaths of more than 162 Muhajirs.[2] The massacre resulted in the dismissal of the Benazir Bhutto government by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.[3]
Background
On 14 May, a dispute between different groups of students over special exam quotas escalated into clashes that spread to the entire city center and resulted in the deaths of three people and a curfew which was enforced which for eleven days.[4][5] On the eleventh day, 25 May, the government sent the police, consisting of several forces from predominantly rural districts surrounding Hyderabad, to Pucca Qila where they attempted to establish a police station within the walls of the citadel and to clear the neighborhood of arms.[5] The police besieged the area, closed off all exits, entered houses and workshops in search of weaponry and shot at people breaking curfew and leaving their houses.[5] Gun battles broke out between the police and MOM militants who had arrived to lift the siege, leading to an escalation of tension in Pucca Qila area.[5] As a result of the siege, the water supply from the water tower in the citadel was cut off, disrupting the water supply in large sections of Hyderabad.[5]
Massacre
On May 27, 10 o clock, a rally of Muhajir women and children started marching from Latifabad to demand the restoration of water supply in Pucca Qila and lift of the 300 hour long siege.[6] The procession, when challenged to stop, dared the police to open fire, because they were carrying the Holy Quran on our heads.[7] The police opened fire, causing a stampede, the muhajir women and children rushing into the Abdul Wahab Shah Jilani Shrine for shelter.[7] Twenty-four ambulances arrived and carried off the dead and the wounded to nearby hospitals, first to Bhitai Hospital-which had only one operation theatre, so that the surgeons were obliged to operate in the corridors and then move the victims to the St. Elizabeth and Mohammadi hospitals.[7] According to Muhajir rights organisations, underage girls were raped in front of their families during the massacre.[8]
References
- ^ Singh, Surendra (2003). Politics of Regionalism in Pakistan: A Study of Sind Province. Kalinga Publications. ISBN 978-81-87644-46-0.
- ^ "What was pucca qila massacre".
- ^ "Ex-Brigadier gives real reasons for BB's 1990 govt's dismissal". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Ayres, Alyssa (2009-07-23). Speaking Like a State: Language and Nationalism in Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-51931-1.
- ^ a b c d e Verkaaik, Oskar (2018-06-05). Migrants and Militants: Fun and Urban Violence in Pakistan. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-18771-6.
- ^ Das, Suranjan (2001). Kashmir and Sindh: Nation-building, Ethnicity and Regional Politics in South Asia. Anthem Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-898855-87-3.
On 27 May 1990, an apparently peaceful demonstration of Muhajir women and children in Hyderabad to demand restoration of the water supply was brutally crushed by the Sindh government police. This in turn incited Muhajir violence against Sindhis living in Karachi.
- ^ a b c Tambiah, Stanley J. (2023-04-28). Leveling Crowds: Ethnonationalist Conflicts and Collective Violence in South Asia. University of California Press. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-520-91819-1.
It is significant that on May 27, the police were deployed and ready to deal with the procession in the Fort area and other demonstrations else- where. For example, three jeeps carrying policemen drove at great speed into the Fort procession, making the people give way. And, apparently the women, when challenged to stop, dared the police to open fire, "because we are carrying the Holy Quran on our heads." The police--one policeman is reported to have shouted, "They are prostitutes" did open fire, causing a stampede, the shrieking women and children rushing into the Abdul Wahab Shah Jilani Shrine for shelter and the men running toward Station Road. 24 Ambulances arrived and carried off the dead and the wounded to nearby hospitals, first to Bhitai Hospital-which had only "one small operation theatre," so that the surgeons were obliged to operate in the corridors and then to the St. Elizabeth and Mohammadi hospitals. All these frenzied events were taking place to the deafening noise of voices over the loudspeakers installed in various mosques, screaming, "Come out of your homes, Muhajirs are being killed"; "Please arrange cots and bedding for the injured"; "Rush to the hospitals and donate blood." In response, "volunteers put up shamianas [tents] in the hospital compound, while women queued to donate blood."
- ^ "No Persecution | History". No Persecution. Retrieved 2022-11-20.