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Immigration Blues

One of the major factors contributing to Karachi’s bad law and order situation is the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants. Of the estimated population of 10.8 million, 4.8 million are new Sindhis (or Mohajirs), 1.5 million Punjabis, 1.5 million Pathans, 1.4 million Bangladeshis, 500,000 ethnic Sindhis, 500,000 Kashmiris, 200,000 Afghans, 150,000 Balochis, 50,000 Iranians, 50,000 Burmese (Arakan origin), 150,000 miscellaneous. 1.2 million Bangladeshi illegal immigrants reached Karachi after 1971 in different stages, viz (1) 1972-1977 approximately 200,000 (2) 1977-1985 approximately 300,000 (3) 1985-1995 approximately 1 million. The Afghan population, also illegal, has now reduced by about 50% from its mid-80s high of 400,000. Most of the Burmese Muslims of Arakan origin entering Karachi after 1978 are illegal, while the illegal Iranian immigrants came in three waves. About 750,000 Pakistani citizens of Mohajir origin stranded in Bangladesh have come to Karachi, half a million during the period 1972-1977 whereas 250,000 have come from 1978 onwards leaving a balance of 250,000 still stranded in Bangladesh who want to come to Pakistan. Pakistan has a moral obligation to accept these Pakistanis of Mohajir origin stranded in Bangladesh. About 150,000 each of Punjabi and Pathan origin also came back from former East Pakistan, very few to Karachi. Of the original 1.5 million refugees from India and their descendants, 500,000 have since merged into the Bangladeshi mainstream. Between 1972 till date, almost half a million Mohajirs (between the ages 15 to 25) directly from areas in India have joined their brethren in Pakistan, almost all of them illegally and mostly now resident in Karachi. Between 1972 till date, there has been an addition to the population of 3 million people from outside Karachi, only 750,000 legally. Karachi’s population being 5.5 million in 1971, has almost doubled now, the maximum influx being 1.5 million Mohajirs and 1.2 million Bangladeshis. With employment opportunities increasing in Punjab, NWFP as well as Kashmir and as the law and order situation has worsened, depressing the economic opportunities in Karachi, on the average there has been a consistent reverse flow in the direction of Punjab, NWFP and Kashmir. Though there continues to be a fair turnover, the population figures of those originating from these areas has decreased (especially in the last 5 years) by about 15% on an average over the past two decades.

The natural growth of any modern metropolitan city is to rise by 15-20% every ten years. Given this computation, Karachi’s population should have been maximum around 8 million today, even then the present socio-economic infrastructure and services would have been barely adequate to cover the needs of the citizens. Imagine then the plight of a city that has to cater to 3 million more residents than its already overburdened services can cope with. In fact Karachi’s housing, water, electricity, gas, sewerage, roads, transportation, medical facilities, etc can give only “below average” service to less than half the present population. The quality of life available in this city has, therefore, rapidly deteriorated. With the reduction of employment opportunities in the city, the social structure has started to coalesce around ethnic lines as each racial community competes for the steadily reducing number of jobs. Though in numbers, unlike the Pathans, the Punjabis and Kashmiris do not live in “ghettos” and as such are non-existent as a community force in Karachi, even compared to the illegal Bangladeshis. This sharing of the ever-reducing economic pie, which as a process remained quite fair till 1985, became a racially selfish exercise after the “Bushra Zaidi” incident (named after the riots when the school-going girl was run over by a yellow minibus). The youth of the Mohajir community came together at perceived discrimination and persecution due to their ethnic background, making a political movement called the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). While the other communities did not resort to the same “circling of the wagons”, with its solid vote bank in “ghettos” the MQM quickly became a major political force in the urban areas of Sindh. Linked with its problems in the other urban areas of Sindh where the ethnic Sindhis in rural areas surrounding these urban enclaves were in an overwhelming majority, MQM’s birth inadvertently initiated the present decade of racial strife (1985-1995).

The major illegal community in Karachi is of Bangladeshi origin. The approximate composition in a rough estimate in various work descriptions are, viz (1) 750,000 industrial labour (2) 300,000 as domestic servants (3) 50,000 servants in commercial entities i.e restaurants, cooks, waiters, etc (4) 25,000 fishermen (5) 25,000 white collar workers as clerks, cashiers, etc (5) miscellaneous jobs, 50,000 (6) families (women and children) not working-approximately 200,000. The industrial labour is self-explanatory, other than the jute mills, textile mills, garment factories, etc, their value to industrialists is because (a) these workers are satisfied with much less than the minimum legal wage in Pakistan and (b) they cannot form Unions or protest at lack of other facilities as any dissent leads to immediate deportation at the behest of the industrialists in connivance with the local authorities. As the domestic servant “feed” from up-country dried up (people headed for greener pastures in the Gulf i.e “Dubai Chalo”), Bangladeshis took over as the major population of domestic servants in upper-middle class residences. What is worrying is that almost 200,000 Bangladeshis are women and children i.e entire families have forsaken their country and established new roots. Most Bangladeshi illegal immigrants used the land route through India to use Karachi as a staging port on their way to the greener pastures of the oil-rich Gulf countries. A massive number stayed back in Karachi due to lack of opportunity. In a planned and organised manner, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) first allowed these people into India across the rather porous international border with Bangladesh, looted them of all their worldly possessions inside India and then looked the other way as they crossed the international border into Pakistan. 3 million people in 20 years means an influx into Karachi of more than 400 people per day on an average, this is not an insignificant number as to not attract official attention at the local, regional and national level. Needless to say this “conspiracy of silence” could not have been possible without the connivance of both the Rangers and Sindh Police at the lower levels. Whoever is responsible, Karachi’s legal residents have been left to reap the results.

A rough calculation would show that 1.2 million jobs which would have been available to Pakistanis are now lost to illegal Bangladesh immigrants. On an average salary of Rs 1500, the amount per individual comes to Rs 1800 million per month i.e Rs 1.8 billion approximately or Rs 21.6 billion per year. Of this money, almost half is sent to Bangladesh by various means i.e US $ 300 million by bank transfer, “Hundi”, etc. In economic terms this money would have been force-multiplied many times if spent in Karachi. The net loss to Karachi’s economy is around US $ 3 billion annually, a staggering sum by any count, it negates the repatriation of funds by our expatriates working abroad. If we compute the cost of services for each individual at Rs 600 per month per individual, the cost comes to around another Rs 10 billion approximately or US $ 300 million. This loss to the country’s economy force-multiplies the emotional problems of having illegal ethnic communities within the city, it could lead to ethnic disturbances. On the upside, they have provided vitally needed manpower for the industrial and commercial activity of this city, their contribution to the economy has been of critical importance in the absence of other manpower. Their presence would have been deemed extremely positive if they were not to repatriate funds back to their home country. It is all very well to threaten to send them back but immediate displacement would cause severe economic dislocation disrupting industrial momentum in Karachi as well as causing a crisis in domestic harmony of Karachi’s middle class, etc. Other than the commercial and emotional stress, the logistical exercise would be staggering. Even if it were possible to send back 2 planeloads a day everyday of the year (300 people per day), in a year that would mean about 100,000 i.e the whole exercise would take 14-15 years, in which period, given the available women and children, another generation of about a million descendants would be ready for deportation.

Given that the 1.4 million Bangladeshis resident in Karachi are a fait accompli, no nation can afford to allow unchecked illegal immigration on this scale. Aren’t people deported regularly from the US, UK and Europe as illegal aliens? In particular, the strife ridden city of Karachi, already under ethnic tensions, can ill-afford the opening up of another such emotional front. However inhuman it may sound, Gen Babar had to resort to such threats as a disincentive to intending future “illegals”, the more publicity the better. Pakistan cannot afford any further influx from anywhere, there is no voice more gruff than Gen Babar’s to deliver such a blunt message far and wide, as the Federal Interior Minister that is his cross to bear.

What about those who are already here? There is an element of humanity that we cannot ignore. While Gen Babar is quite right and justified in talking about drastic steps against illegal immigrants and immigration, there is always the danger of spoiling the deep relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh that has taken years to build after the catastrophe of 1971. Already the first shots have been fired in acrimonious and rather undiplomatic exchanges, no doubt India will add fuel to the fire. The pragmatic course would be, given that the alien gives proof of an identifiable place of work, to register all the illegal immigrants as “ALIENS”. This card should double as a WORK PERMIT with a service fee (around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500). For the issue of registration cards there must be a cut-off date i.e immediately for entry-01 Nov 95 and for registration within six to eight months i.e latest by 30 Jun 96. As long as the ALIEN pays a monthly service charge of Rs.300 and his employer (or himself if the man is self-employed) pays a monthly service charge of another Rs.300, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) should accept this status of residency with stiff penalties including immediate deportation if someone has or tries to get Pakistani nationality (National ID or a passport). By declaring Bangladeshis as illegal immigrants, GoP has already declared an open hunting season on them, making them game for excesses by the local police to line their own pockets. Already SITE and Korangi Associations have lodged their protest at their members having their factories raided by police looking for illegals, Chinese restaurants have met the same fate. Money to the tune of Rs 15,000-20,000 per individual is changing hands but certainly not going into the Government’s coffers. It would be better to employ the private sector (or organisations like the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee CPLC) for ALIEN REGISTRATION as well as the servicing of ALIEN needs, acting as the local bridge with the laws of the land. We have to work out a pragmatic solution that not only makes it a disincentive monetarily for future (and present) “illegals” but also makes it commercially feasible for Karachi to bear the burden of the existing illegal immigrants, whether they be Bangladeshis, Afghans, Iranians, etc. The only way to get out of our “immigration blues” from becoming a catastrophe is to act now in a mature, sensible and organised manner.

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