Motorcycle gunmen shoot dead one of Pakistan’s best-known singers

One of Pakistan’s best-known singers has been shot dead in what police have described as an act of terror. Amjad Sabri, who is known for a style of of Sufi devotional music, known as Qawwali, was hit in the face and chest as he was driving on a bridge Karachi. His killers pulled up alongside his car on a motorcycle before opening fire through the windscreen. The 45-year-old was declared dead after being taken to hospital, while his assistant was also injured. “It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism,” said senior police officer Muqaddas Haider.

Totally shocked to hear the news of @AmjadSabri. May Allah bless him with Jannah (heaven) for he praised Him & His Prophet beautifully all his life

Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan’s parliament

Sabri was the son of the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, who headed a leading Sufi music band which has dominated the Qawwali scene in Pakistan and India since the 1970s. He was a follower of the mystical and tolerant Sufi brand of Islam which has been under attack from hardliners in recent years. A regular fixture on TV screens, his death was met with shock in a country used to political violence. “Shocked and saddened by news of the killing of Amjad Sabri, not just a crime but an attack on our culture and heritage,” said Mustafa Qadri, a human rights researcher at Amnesty International.

amjad sabri