Noted Pakistani Sufi singer shot dead in Karachi

Pakistani Sufi artist Amjad Sabri has been gunned down in Karachi.

A forensic expert collects evidences from the car of famous Sufi singer Amjad Sabri after an attack in Karachi, Pakistan on June 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Renowned Pakistani qawwali singer Amjad Sabri has been shot by motorcycle-borne gunmen on Wednesday in the busy port city of Karachi.

Home to 20 million people and Pakistan’s stock exchange and central bank, Karachi has been plagued by political, ethnic and sectarian violence.

The 45 year old was one of South Asia’s most popular singers of the qawwali, Sufi devotional music that dates back more than 700 years.

Officials said two gunmen shot at the windscreen of Sabri’s car as it drove off a bridge in the congested Liaquatabad area of the southern city, and a relative travelling with him was also injured.

“Two attackers riding a motorcycle intercepted his car and targeted Amjad Sabri, who was driving,” Sindh police chief Allah Dino Khawaja told Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

“Amjad Sabri expired on the way to the hospital,” police surgeon Rohina Hasan said. “He was shot three times.”

Police gave no further details.

Violence is common in Karachi despite a sharp decline in murders since the Pakistani military launched a crackdown two years ago against suspected militants and violent criminals.

On Monday, a lawyer, the son of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, was abducted outside a city supermarket. The motive for the kidnapping was not immediately clear, authorities said.

In May, gunmen shot dead prominent Pakistani rights activist Khurram Zaki, known for his outspoken stance against the Taliban and other radical Islamist groups, in the central part of the city.

In April last year, prominent activist Sabeen Mahmud was shot and killed while travelling in her car.