KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday cancelled exemption order to former mayor Wasim Akhtar from appearing in hearing of May 12 cases.

Three accused Raees alias Mamma, Umair alias Jailor and Mirza Naseeb Baig alias Rizwan Chapati were present in the court.

Anti-terrorism judge expressed his disappointment over the absence of Wasim Akhtar in the hearing and said, "He is no more mayor, why he failed to appear before the court in the case hearing?"

The court warned of serious consequences to Akhtar, if he would fail to appear in the next hearing. The court also cancelled exemption order granted to Akhtar from appearing in the case hearing.

The ATC had granted exemption to Wasim Akhtar from appearing in the hearing on May 11, 2019 being the mayor of the city.

An anti-terrorism court here had indicted Akhtar and other accused affiliated with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in cases related to May 12, 2007 carnage in the port city. The ATC indicted the accused while hearing nine cases in which over 50 people had been killed in attacks on rallies by different political parties and lawyers who had tried to receive the ousted chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on May 12, 2007.