KARACHI, May 15: The Awami National Party's Sindh chapter on Sunday held a public meeting to remember its activists and supporters as well as a large number of people who died in the May 12, 2007 carnage in Karachi.

Provincial chief of the party Shahi Syed and several other leaders, including Bashir Khan, Farooq Bangash and Rana Gul Afridi, addressed the rally and demanded resumption of the trial pertaining to the tragedy. They called for the arrest and punishment of those responsible for the carnage.

A resolution passed at the meeting urged the government to pay compensation for all those who were killed and injured in the violence, and also appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to take suo motu notice of targeted killings in Karachi.

Recalling the incident, Shahi Syed said that thousands of people had turned up to accord a warm welcome to the chief justice on his arrival at the Karachi airport on May 12 and many of them were attacked with firearms on the streets of the city by terrorists.

The other speakers demanded arrest of all criminals involved in the conspiracy against the welcome reception.

They urged the masses to join hands in the party's fight against criminals and terrorists.

Participants of the rally, waving red party flags, raised slogans against culprits of targeted killings and acts of violence in the city and pledged to continue their struggle against criminals.