KARACHI: While observing black day and complete boycott of court proceedings on Friday over the May 12 mayhem that had left more than 45 people dead and scores of others wounded in 2007, the legal fraternity demanded of the government to try the culprits involved in the violence in a military court.

At a general body meeting of the Sindh High Court BarAssociation, the lawyers` leaders strongly condemned the authorities for not bringing the culprits of the May 12 violence to book and taking the decade-old case to its logical conclusion.

They said that had the killers of the May 12 victims been arrested and punished, the city would not have witnessed such brutal violence overthe past10 years.

Addressing a sizeable number of lawyers at the SHC bar room, SHCBA president Shahab Sarki said the lawyers could never for-get the May 12 incidents, nor would they let the authorities to do so. He asked the government to initiate a high-level inquiry into the matter.

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Yasin Azad said the lawyers movement did not yield the required results like other movements in the country as `we failed to give justice to the families of May 12 martyrs`.

Senior lawyer Ahmed Owais said the case of May 12 mayhemshould have been tried on a priority basis, adding that lawyers would have to take a big decision to save the country.

Former SHCBA president Abid Zuberi said that everyone knew who was involved in the May 12 incidents as the `major stakeholders and party office-bearers` were named in the FIRs of the incidents. The May 12 mayhem case must be sent to a military court for trial, he said.

Karachi Bar Association president Naeem Qureshi said the fam-ilies of the May 12 victims were not even given compensation.

Senior lawyer and member of the Pakistan Bar Council Mohammad Agil also addressed the lawyers.

The lawyers across Sindh wore black armbands, boycotted legal proceedings, held meetings of the city, district and high court bar associations, hoisted black flags at bar offices and staged protest demonstrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the May 12 violence.