Daily Times

KARACHI: Famous qawwal Amjad Sabri has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen here in Liaquatabad on Wednesday afternoon.

Initial details of the attack suggest that four unidentified gunmen atop two motorcycles opened fire at his car. Sources privy to police stated that at least 11 bullets were fired at the car with four penetrating the vehicle on the sides and six going through the windscreen. Reportedly, two bullets fatally injured Sabri with one penetrating the face and other his chest.

Sabri was heading for the studio of a private television channel along with his brother Saleem Sabri to take part in the Iftari transmission when he was attacked. His brother went unhurt in the attack. Amjad Sabri was son of the renowned qawwal of the Sixties Ghulam Farid Sabri and the nephew of qawwali icon Maqbool Sabri who passed away in 2011.

Maqbool Sabri along with his brother, the late Ghulam Farid Sabri, formed a formidable qawwali group in the mid-50s and became known for their soul-stirring renditions of arifana kalam (mystic poetry). Almost whatever the Sabri brothers sang became an instant hit. But some of their most memorable and famous qawwalis were Bhar Do Jholi Meri, Tajdar-e-Haram and Mera Koi Nahin Hai Teray Siwa.

They were equally well-versed in compositions made in the Persian language and sang Nami Danam Che Manzil Bood with equal ease and facility. The brothers’ rendition of Hazrat Amir Khusrau’s kalam was one of their marked areas of excellence.