| 1988 Hyderabad Massacre | |
| Location: | Hyderabad, Pakistan |
| Date: | 30 September 1988 |
| Partof: | Violence against Muhajirs |
| Fatalities: | 250 |
| Victims: | Muhajirs |
| Perpetrators: | Qadir Magsi and Sindhi nationalists |
On September 30, 1988,[1] hundreds of people, mostly Muhajirs,[1] were killed in Hyderabad, Sindh in what was known as "Black Friday". The death toll was above 250, and the attacks are said to have been coordinated and carried out by Sindhi nationalist militants.[1] Unidentified gunmen opened fire on large crowds of innocent bystanders, including women and children, in Latifabad. The MQM accused Qadir Magsi and nationalists carrying out the attack.[2]
The following day Sindhis were killed in ethnic rioting which killed at least 46 people.[3] A curfew was enforced in both Karachi and Hyderabad.[4]
In total over 200+ people died in the span of two days. MQM, the largest Muhajir party, would broaden its scope as a party of the middle class following this incident, emphasizing the common physical suffering of the local Muhajir community in parallel to its socioeconomic decline.[5]
In 1988, the massacre, which was committed by the Zia regime (Zia was assassinated in August 1988), occurred as a result of brewing ethnic and political tensions between Sindhi nationalists and Muhajir communities.[6] Zia-ul-Haq, the then President of Pakistan, had been killed in a plane crash the month before, leaving political and democratic possibilities open in Pakistan. Demographic considerations were a huge part of political discourse that led to ethnic rioting throughout the late 1980s.
Following the 1988 massacre, Qadir Magsi was detained without trial or conviction for five years. He was eventually released on bail pending trial.[7]
In July 2003, a Hyderabad trial court exonerated Qadir Magsi and eight others who were accused of perpetrating the massacre.
The Sindh High Court upheld the trial court's judgement in 2007, exonerating 41 additional suspects.