KARACHI - As many as 11 cases involving May 12, 2007 carnage have been reopened and sent to the anti-terrorism court for retrial.
The cases involving May 12 bloodshed were reopened on the direction of the Sindh High Court. These cases were declared “A” Class (proceedings in the case frozen with the approval of the court).
Police officials submitted a report on the cases, which were declared “A” Class due to a lack of evidence to the ATC administrative judge. He sent the files of the cases to the ATC No-II for re-trial. At least four cases involving May 12 carnage were already under trial in the said court in which Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar and 21 other MQM leaders were nominated. They were indicted by the court.
The cases were registered at Gaddap Police Station, Bahadurabad Police Station, Ferozabad Police Station and Airport Police Station.
On September 11, the SHC had ordered reopening the cases involving the May 12, 2007 mayhem.
The order was issued on a petition moved by Iqbal Kazmi who had pleaded for constitution of a judicial commission to probe the matter. The federal government representative and amici curiae (friends of the court) had argued in favour of the petitioner whereas the Sindh government had opposed the idea in the court.
The court had also directed the Sindh government to re-launch an inquiry into the matter.
Around 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded in attacks on rallies organised by members of political parties and legal fraternity who had attempted to receive the then deposed chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry at the Karachi airport ahead of a lawyers’ gathering.
Justice Chaudhry was forced to fly back to Islamabad after having been restricted to the airport for nine hours. MQM's Wasim Akhtar was home adviser to the Sindh chief minister at the time.
