[1] Another crackdown on 22 August 2016 resulted in the closure of the party headquarters near 90 Azizabad, Khursheed Memorial Hall, MPA Hostel, and Jinnah Park.

About 300 people were killed in June alone, with the death toll reaching 600 within two months and 2,000 over the year, primarily due to ethnic violence.

[16][15] On 25 June 1995, nearly 80 policemen were killed in a five-week-long assault by MQM militants, and a total of 221 security personnel lost their lives over the year.

[25] In 2007, during the 12 May Karachi riots, MQM party workers were accused of launching highly coordinated attacks on ANP and PPP supporters, resulting in the deaths of 58 people and injuring hundreds, most of whom were Pashtuns.

[26][27][28] On several occasions in 2007 and 2008, Pashtun-majority neighbourhoods were subjected to violence and bombings, including coordinated attacks against Pashtun street vendors, restaurant owners, and labourers.

[29][30][31] In 2010, following the assassination of MQM politician Raza Haider, MQM-affiliated gangs gunned down nearly 95 people—primarily Pashtuns, along with a minority of Sindhis and Punjabis—during the 2010 Karachi riots.

[32][33] In March 2011, an attack on a PPP office marked the beginning of a violent spree in which 50 people were killed, mainly Pashtuns, although Urdu-speakers and Balochs were also among the victims.

[34][35] On 5 July 2011, during a five-day period of protests after MQM quit the ruling government, 114 people were killed in indiscriminate attacks targeting Pashtuns, regardless of their political affiliations.

[39] Meanwhile, remarks by Sindhi politician Zulfiqar Mirza, criticising MQM and perceived as offensive to Urdu-speakers, reignited violence.

[44][45][46][47] MQM successfully built a network of businessmen and market players, influencing what effectively became a parallel economy in Karachi.

By doing so, MQM effectively held the city's economy hostage from the rest of Pakistan, using this leverage to extract political concessions from the central government and solidify its position as a ruling power.

[52] In contrast to MQM-A, the breakaway faction MQM-Haqiqi aligned itself with Sipah-i-Sahaba in Karachi and was involved in attacks on Shi'a places of worship.

[52] MQM's violent activities were not limited to external confrontations; internal factional violence also took place, with party members being targeted in drive-by shootings.

[57] In the aftermath of Hakeem Saeed's assassination, Governor's Rule was imposed by Nawaz Sharif in the Sindh province, and a military operation was initiated against MQM.

Rangers claimed that they apprehended nearly half a dozen target killers, including Faisal Mehmood, aka 'Faisal Mota', who was sentenced to death in the 2011 murder case of Geo News journalist Wali Khan Babar.

A large quantity of arms and ammunition, walkie-talkies, binoculars, and other military gear used by NATO forces in Afghanistan were also seized during the raid.

In this speech, he incited party workers to attack Pakistani media houses, which led to street rioting and one death in Karachi.

A section of political analysts believe that the situation had already started worsening for MQM when London's Metropolitan Police arrested and detained Altaf Hussain, the party founder, in 2014 for an investigation, which dispelled the impression that he was untouchable and safe in Britain.