Forum Pakistan

Husain, Altaf (1953-)
Political activist from Karachi. He first founded the All Pakistan Muhajir Students Association (APMSO) at the University of Karachi Campus in 1986.
This was in the background of a discriminatory legislation against Muhajirs (Migrants from India) which constricted theirs entries to professional educational institutes offering engineering and medical education courses as well as a rural/urban employment recruitment formula which was peculiar to only Sindh province.

There was ethnic violence in Karachi between the Path an transporters and Muhajir passengers specially in the wake of the Bushra Zaidi case in 1983. Simultaneously there had been sectarian riots in Karachi, during which stressing the ethnic rather than the sectarian identity. The Muhajir Qaumi Movement (see, Muttahida Qaumi Movement) was formed on 18 March 1984. Thereafter, whenever the MQM stood for elections in the urban areas of Sindh, it won by a wide margin displacing the otherwise popular religious parties.

On 1 January 1992 Altaf Husain left for Jeddah enroute to London where he now permanently resides. On 19 June 1992, the first army operation against the MQM was launched in the wake of which a parallel organisation was formed. He converted the MQM from Muhajir Qaumi Movement to Muttahida Qaumi Movement, to accommodate members from other ethnic groups. He still holds considerable political influence and power despite his self-exile.

APMSO was founded much earlier than MQM..perhaps in late 1970's.