KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Friday directed the investigating officer to submit the ‘final’ report regarding non-bailable arrest warrants of several political activists allegedly absconding in the 13-year-old case pertaining to violent riots and terrorist acts on May 12, 2007.

Police have booked suspects Abdul Bari Kakar, Habibullah, Mushtaq and Wakeel Khan besides around 400 to 500 unidentified activists, said to be associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Jamaat-i-Islami, for their alleged involvement in the violent riots and terrorist acts during the May 12 chaos in 2007.

On Friday when the matter came up before the ATC-II judge, the investigating officer of the case filed a compliance report regarding the execution of non-bailable warrants issued by the court for the arrest of the absconding suspects.

However, the judge termed the report ‘incomplete’ and directed the IO to submit a ‘final and complete’ report on the next date of hearing. The matter was fixed for May 2.

The court has repeatedly been issuing non-bailable warrants for the four nominated and scores of other unidentified suspects since the investigating officer filed a charge sheet in the present case in September last year.

In the charge sheet, it was mentioned that Kakar, Habibullah, Mushtaq and Wakeel Khan along with 400-500 activists of the PPP, ANP and JI allegedly resorted to violence, rioting and terrorism on the day of the incident.

A case was registered on May 12, 2007 at the Saddar police station under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred rupees or (in case of agricultural produce) ten rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Around 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded in attacks on rallies organised by members of political parties and the 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.

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Umair Siddiqui, Mohammad Nasir and Nasir Zia with several activists belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement have already been charged with rioting, arson attacks and terrorism in some four identical cases registered at the Airport police station on May 12.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2020