Amjad Sabri laid to rest in Karachi
The legendary qawalli singer will be buried in Paposh Nagar graveyard.
KARACHI (Dunya News/AFP) – Thousands of fans on Thursday thronged the streets of Karachi to attend the funeral of one of the best known Sufi musicians Amjad Sabri, who was gunned down a day earlier in what police called an "act of terror".
The legendary qawwal singer has been buried beside his father and uncle‘s graves in Paposh Nagar graveyard.
According to details, Dewan Masood led the funeral prayers of Amjad Sabri.
Thousands of fans, supporters, neighbours and renowned celebrities gathered at the scene and participated in the funeral while the security arrangements were also tightened up on this occasion.
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Sarwat Sabri demanded Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to bring the killers of his brother to justice.He said Amjad Sabri’s death is a big loss for the nation.
Television footage showed tearful mourners showering rose petals over an ambulance carrying the coffin of Amjad Sabri
Shops and businesses in the Liaquatabad and Nazimbad areas shut down for the day.
Mohammad Farooq Khan, a 36-year-old who contracted polio as a child, said he had walked 12 kilometres from the city’s north on his crutches to attend the singer’s last rites.
"Allah has brought to here to participate in the funeral of that great man," he said.
Another mourner Shaheen Iqbal said she had asked Sabri for help just days earlier. "He gave me rations for Ramadan and some money. He also promised to help me get a small apartment," she said, tearfully.
Amjad Sabri, aged around 45, was travelling by car from his home in the city’s eastern Korangi area to a television studio, when a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire, Farooq Sanjarani, a police officer told AFP.
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Sabri was hit by five bullets and was declared dead at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while a companion, named as a relative, Saleem Sabri, was in critical condition, a hospital source added.
"It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism," Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer said, without naming possible suspects.
Grisly mobile phone footage of the scene of the crime shot by an onlooker showed the singer’s head slumped on his right shoulder and a pool of blood on the ground by the driver’s side where he sat.
Targeted sect
Sabri was a ‘Qawwal’, or singer of ‘Qawwali’, which is a traditional form of Islamic devotional music that is popular across South Asia with roots tracing back to the 13th century.
The music is closely associated with Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam that is viewed as heretical by hardline groups such as the Taliban.
Sabri, the son of another legendary Qawwali singer, Ghulam Farid Sabri who died in 1994, was a fixture on national television and regularly performed on a morning show during the ongoing holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the attack. Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif took notice of the incident and demanded report of the incident from Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Qaim Ali Shah.
Also Read: PM Nawaz takes notice of Sabri s murder, seeks report from CM Sindh
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the incident. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the incident and stated that the attack on Sabri was a question mark over the measures taken by the provincial government to ensure peace in the province. Khan demanded that the culprits be apprehended as soon as possible and be awarded with befitting punishment.
Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Sial took notice of Sabri’s killing and demanded report of the incident from Sindh Inspector General Police (IGP) A.D. Khawaja and Additional IG. Sial also called a high-level meeting over the sad happening.
Also Read: National artists pay homage to Amjad Sabri
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah dismissed Station House Officer (SHO) of the area where the attack took place. He also contacted Director General (DG) Rangers, Sindh, Major General Bilal Akbar after the incident and directed that the matter be investigated.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) West addressed the media and stated that two unidentified gunmen attacked Sabri using a 30 bore pistol.
According to the investigation report, four terrorists were following Sabri’s car since he left his home to reach the studio. The report stated that the attackers had covered their faces. Sabri’s car was attacked as it approached near the underpass.
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