DHAKA: One of Pakistan’s most famous singers, Amjad Sabri, has been shot dead in the southern city of Karachi.

Two gunmen fired on his car in the busy Liaqatabad area, police said. Sabri died on his way to hospital. It is not yet clear who was behind the killing, reports the BBC.

Sabri was a leading exponent of Sufi devotional music, known as Qawwali.

Sufism, a tolerant, mystical practice of Islam, has millions of followers in Pakistan - but in recent years has come under attack from Sunni extremists.

In the past, attacks on targets linked to Sufi Islam have been blamed on the Taliban who view Sufism as heretical. But no such attacks have taken place during the last couple of years, the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad reports.

Sabri, who was among the sub-continent’s top Qawwali singers, was hit by five bullets, police said. Another person, thought to be a relative, was wounded in the shooting and is said to be in a critical condition.

‘It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism,’ said senior police officer Muqaddas Haider.

BDST: 2200 HRS, JUN 22, 2016
RR