It was a total breakdown of law and order. Karachi descended into a swirl of violence on May 12, 2007 while the police stood idle. Armed groups fired on the caravans of political activists coming to welcome the deposed Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the office of a TV channel was attacked, ambulances were hit and vehicles set on fire but no law enforcement personnel tried to control the situation. Around 48 people were killed. It was as if the Sindh government did not exist. Millions of viewers saw on TV gunmen brandishing weapons on the streets. Many had taken up positions on buildings and bridges to fire with impunity at anyone they thought an enemy. Some even waved unashamedly their party’s flags. There was a visible hostility in Karachi dominated by the MQM towards the CJ sent packing by Musharraf. Since the opposition political forces and lawyers had stood up against the dictator in defence of the judiciary, the wrath of the government was expected to multiply, but little did people expect the shameful massacre in Karachi. Every year since, May 12, 2007 is observed as one of the blackest days in our history. Unfortunately, seven years on, we still have no authoritative account of what happened on that bloody day. Unless the facts are laid threadbare and the perpetrators identified through a legal process, the allegations on the MQM for staging the entire mayhem would just remain allegations, providing the party the ‘courage’ to stage protests along with the actual victims. The judiciary, the main target on that fateful day, has failed to provide justice to the victims and bring the culprits to book. There is now a demand to form a judicial commission to probe into the matter. Will that serve the purpose? Will the Sindh government show the courage to find and prosecute the culprits, especially when the MQM is once again in coalition with them? And what about Musharraf, the so-called liberal dictator, who triumphantly celebrated the massacre by calling it a demonstration of ‘muscle’? The blurred and ignored canvas of the May 12 events becomes more conspicuous and tragic when CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s penchant to take suo motu notice of issues at the drop of a hat is recalled. May 12, 2007 will live in the annals of infamy, not the least because it is a classic case of justice delayed, justice denied. There may be some wishing to keep the facts hidden, but not to bring the perpetrators of the massacre to justice even belatedly is an insult to the memory of the massacre’s victims.*