KARACHI, May 12: Leaders of various political, religious and nationalist parties on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution demanding arrest of the May 12, 2007 carnage culprits, a fair probe into the mayhem and bringing an end to the targeted killings in Karachi.

The resolution also called on the US to stop intervention into the affairs of Pakistan.

The resolution was passed at a 'national conference' organised by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI)'s Karachi chapter.

Qamar Bhatti of the Jeay Sindh Qaum Parast, Matloob Awan of the Sunni Tehrik, Mohammad Ayub of the Sindh National Front, M. Qamar Qutubuddin of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Naeem-ul-Haq of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf, Zaffar Jhandir of the Sindh Dost Ittehad, Jalal Mehmood Shah of the Sindh United Party; Basharat Mirza of the Pakistan Democratic Party; Ghulam Mustafa Leghari of the Awami Tehrik and Qari Usman of the JUI-F, besides Bishop Nazeer Alam of the United Church of Pakistan and Mohammad Aqil of the Karachi Bar Association, spoke at the conference.

JI chief Munawwar Hassan lambasted the government's 'reconciliation' policy, and said that the country had plunged into crises due to this “immoral and unprincipled approach”.

It should be vetted properly whether the reconciliation had given country the right direction, he said, and remarked that democracy had been ruined because of this approach.

He called for honouring the pledge made in London when PML-N chief had convened an all-parties conference.

Regarding military operation in Balochistan, he said it was a mistake committed by the government, which should accept it.

It was the result of the military operation that Pakistani flag was not being waved in that province, he said.

Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the law and order in Karachi had been worsening with every passing day.

The government must devise a plan to maintain peace in the city as it was the financial hub of the country and generated about 68 per cent of the national revenue, he said.

He said the May 12 carnage would never be forgotten as many innocent lives were lost that fateful day.

We must look forward to hammer out a solution to such issues, he added.

Senator Zafar Iqbal Jhagra of the PML-N said his party parted ways with the PPP when it backtracked from its promises.

“We want to strengthen democracy in the country but the government itself is not committed to honouring the promises it had made several times,” he said.

Former chief justice of Pakistan Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, JUI leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and JI city chief Mohammad Hussain Mehanti stressed the need for conducting an independent inquiry into the May 12 mayhem. They demanded arrest the culprits involved in the carnage.

Participants of the conference demanded that the culprits of May 12 mayhem be taken to task before the matter could turn worse.

They lamented the current situation of the country and expressed concern over deteriorating law and order.

Veteran politician Sardar Sherbaz Mazari also attended the conference.—PPI