Bilawal visits slain Amjad Sabri’s house, offers condolence

KARACHI (92 News) – Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has on Tuesday visited the residence of slain sufi singer Amjad Sabri and condoled with the singer’s family. Talking to media, he said that the Sindh Government will work closely with the family of slain singer to build institute in his name to honor his legacy. The PPP chairman said that they will promote music, culture and religious harmony to combat the violent extremist mindset that robbed us of our national cultural assets. Pakistan's best-known Sufi musicians Amjad Sabri was shot dead by unknown assailants riding a motorcycle in Karachi last week, triggering an outpouring of grief. 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. 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. The killing of the sufi singer has left many questions in the minds of the people. Amjad Sabri began singing at the age of nine and his first public performance was with his father when he was 12 years old. The musician came from a dynasty of legendary performers, and was known for reworking classics popularized by his father and uncle. He regularly appeared on national television, and had been performing daily for Ramazan. Karachi's murder rate has fallen sharply since 2013 after a crackdown by paramilitary Rangers, but new fears were stoked on Monday after the kidnapping of the son of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. Two days later, gunmen on a motorcycle shot at the windscreen of Sabri's moving car in the congested Liaquatabad area of the southern city, and a relative travelling with him was wounded.