May 12 carnage: SHC allows urgent hearing of plea for larger bench

The Sindh High Court admitted an application on Thursday for an urgent hearing of a petition seeking the constitution of a larger bench to hear the May 12, 2007, mayhem case as well as provision of protection to the petitioner and his family.

More than 50 persons were killed in shootings and attacks on political parties and lawyers’ rallies that wanted to welcome the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, on his arrival at the Karachi airport for a visit to the city on May 12 nine years ago.

Filing a miscellaneous application, Syed Iqbal Kazmi submitted that the high court had restored his petition for a hearing over charges related to the May 12 carnage and directed the police to provide protection to him. 

He said he survived an assassination attempt in June 2012, and his nephew, cousins and other associates had been killed in terrorism incidents for filing the May 12 case.  He maintained that he had been forced to withdraw the petition when he was in jail after being implicated in
false cases at the behest of the previous government.

He prayed to the court to reconstitute a full bench to hear the case and order the provision of necessary protection to him and his family. A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, granted the urgent application for a hearing and fixed the matter for November 22.

Narrating the incidents of violence of May 12, the petition says the then home secretary and the IGP had violated the court’s order for the provision of security to the deposed chief justice of Pakistan during his visit to Karachi.

It adds that mobs had laid siege to buildings of the Sindh High Court and the City Courts, and manhandled lawyers. It says that the government had failed to protect the life, liberty, freedom of movement and other fundamental rights of citizens. The petition requests the court to initiate contempt proceedings against then home adviser Waseem Akhtar for issuing derogatory remarks against the chief justice. 

  National flag’s use 

The Sindh High Court dismissed an application for an urgent hearing of a petition seeking a ban on political and commercial use of the national flag. 

Petitioner Afroz Gul submitted that the national flag symbolised the country and it could not be allowed to be used for commercial and political purposes.  She submitted that the Pak Sarzameen Party was using the national flag as its flag and requested the court to restrain the party from doing so.  The court dismissed the application for an urgent hearing as the counsel for the petitioner sought time for preparation.