Thousands of tearful mourners, including women and children, today thronged the streets of Pakistan’s largest city and sang the soul-stirring renditions of Amjad Sabri as they paid tributes to one of the country’s finest Sufi Qawwals who was killed by Taliban militants here.
His funeral prayers were held in a mosque of liaquatabad area where the 45-year-old was attacked on Wednesday by two unidentified bike-borne gunmen.
The grieving mourners included members of Sabri’s family, friends and fans. They threw rose petals over an ambulance carrying his coffin and later followed the vehicle to the graveyard, where he was buried near the grave of his father Ghulam Farid Sabri, a leading Qawwal of his time.
“There were thousands of people in the funeral,” police official Muhammad Ali said.
He said some people were singing his famous qawwalis.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Hakimullah Masood group, which has said it was against any form of Sufism, has claimed responsibility for the fatal attack on Sabri yesterday.
Since Sabri’s killing, grief and anger have gripped Pakistan with TV channels and the print media highlighting the spate of lawlessness in the country’s largest city.
Police have so far been unable to find any clue about the gunmen behind the attack on Sabri, who was shot in the chest and head. He was shifted to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.