The 16 no-show defendants of the cases relating to May 12, 2007, carnage moved closer to being declared absconders on Sunday after an advertisement regarding their absence from the court was published in a newspaper on anti-terrorism court's (ATC) orders.

The case, which also has Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar as one of the co-defendants, had its hearing conducted in ATC's court number three in Karachi on Saturday, during which the court directed the investigation officer to take the aforesaid measure in accordance with Section 87 of the criminal code.

The ATC had also ordered the no-show accused to appear before it on February 3.

The list of the 16 accused who are at large includes Umair Hussain Siddiqui, Haq Nawaz, Abdul Ahad, Dildar Mian and Abdul Waheed.

Mayor Akhtar is a defendant in 39 cases, seven of which pertain to the infamous "May 12 mayhem". He was arrested in July 2016 and sent to ATC for trial but was granted bail in November.

He, along with others, has been accused of murder, inciting riots and arson in Karachi on May 12, 2007 — a day when gunfights and clashes between armed political parties erupted all over the city, leading to 48 deaths.