Woman claims suspected Sabri killer resembles missing son

KARACHI: A woman has claimed that the sketch released by Sindh Police identifying him as qawwal Amjad Sabri’s murderer resembled his son, who she said went missing three years ago from the city.

Speaking to Geo News program “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath” on Thursday, Hameeda Begum, a resident of Karachi’s impoverished Gizri neighbourhood, said his son Nasir used to wear the same kind of hat depicted by the police in the “70-per cent” resembling sketch of the qawwal’s suspected killer.

Hameeda Begum said a man named Tahir Baloch took her son with him in 2014 and she had been searching for Nasir ever since. She said she had also lodged a FIR at Clifton police station.

She said there were various cases registered against Tahir Baloch at various police station of the city.

“If Amjad Sabri was murdered by my son then punish him… but at least his whereabouts should be known to his family after the passage of three years,” she stated.

Earlier on Thursday, thousands of mourners crowded the funeral procession of the beloved Pakistani qawwal, a day after he was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Liaquatabad.

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

Devotees thronged the ambulance carrying Sabri´s body to the funeral, blocking its progress.

Sabri’s death was the latest in a high-profile series of attacks in Karachi, a megacity of 20 million plagued by political, ethnic and sectarian violence.

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 city, and a relative travelling with him was wounded.

PM announces Rs10 million for Sabri’s family

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced Rs10 million in financial support to the family of Amjad Sabri. In a statement, he said the federal government will also bear the educational expenses of his children.

“The loss of Amjad Sabri at the hands of coward terrorists is loss of entire Pakistan. He was genuine aashiq-e-Rasul [devotee of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)],” said the statement.

“His contributions through promotion of love and tolerance all around the world are unmatched and unparalleled in present time. People of Pakistan loved him and will remember him as a good will ambassador of Pakistan around the world.”