KARACHI: Pakistan’s Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri, of the noted Sabri Brothers group, was shot dead in Karachi this afternoon, in what the police described as an “act of terror” that triggered ing an outpouring of grief.
Mr Sabri, aged around 45, was on his way to a recording this morning. But when his car was in the city’s Liaquatabad area, a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire.
The artiste sustained five bullet injuries and was declared dead at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
His relative Saleem Sabri, who were also in the car, and a driver, were reportedly injured. Saleem Sabri is said to be in a critical condition.
“It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism,” news agency AFP quoted Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer, as saying.
The Sabri brothers were the ones to take Qawwali – a music rooted in Sufism — to the West in 1970s. The group was started by the late Ghulam Farid Sabri and his younger brother Haji Maqbool Ahmed Sabri. Amjad Sabri was the son of Ghulam Sabri.
Islamic extremists reject Sufi traditions and have targeted Sufis in the past.
Mr Sabri’s death witnessed an outpouring of grief, shock and anger on Twitter.
Online Source
