Demystifying Ethnic Violence in Karachi 1980–1990

Abstract

By applying Kalyvas’s theory of selective violence, this article argues that the primary factor that transformed Karachi into a center of violence during the 1980s was the clash of economic interests between established migrants (Urdu-speaking migrants from India) and newer arrivals (Punjabi, Sindhi, and Pashtun communities). It analyzes the outbreak of armed ethnic violence in Karachi and its organization along ethnic lines throughout the decade. The emergence of intense economic competition in Karachi, particularly after the influx of Afghan refugees, created a new illegal economic order sustained by black money. This study demonstrates that violence was instrumental in maintaining this illicit economy. Over time, armed violence was further employed to produce, protect, and expand illegal economic activities. However, this violence was cloaked in ethnic rhetoric to evade scrutiny from law enforcement agencies. Drawing on primary sources such as newspapers, government gazettes, and firsthand accounts from key figures in various movements, this article explains how criminal violence was reconfigured as ethnic violence. This work investigates the connections of famous incidents of ethnic violence in Karachi to private issues of participants.