Sindh forms new JIT to probe May 12, 2007 violence in Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh Home Department has constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe again into May 12, 2007, violent incidents in Karachi, in which dozens of people were killed and scores others injured.

Sindh High Court in September ordered formation of a JIT to probe May 12 riots in Karachi.

A SHC bench also ordered formation of a judicial tribunal for investigation into the hours-long riots on the day, which claimed scores of lives.

According to the government notification the JIT will prepare its report on May 12 violence and submit it to the Sindh High Court (SHC).

Additional Inspector General (AIG) Police Dr. Amir Shaikh will head the JIT.

The probe will revisit the incidents on May 12 and investigate the characters involved in the tragedy and their connections.

Apart of the JIT head Amir Shaikh, the officials of the ISI, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, Rangers and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and Crime Branch of the Police will be members of the probe.

May 12, 2007 mayhem

On May 12, 2007, around 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded in attacks on rallies of different political parties and the legal fraternity, who had attempted to receive the then deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at the Karachi airport ahead of a lawyers’ gathering.

Justice Chaudhry was forced to fly back to Islamabad after nine hours being restricted to the airport.

On the day a major portion of Karachi’s main artery, Shahra-e-Faisal, turned into a battlefield when rival political groups clashed with each other soon after the arrival of the then chief justice of Pakistan, deposed by the military regime of Gen. Pervez Musharraf.