CTD arrests suspect, grills over Amjad Sabri murder

KARACHI: Officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday rounded up a suspect, who was being interrogated over the murder of Qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri, they said.

CTD personnel conducted a raid in Machar Colony area of Karachi late on Thursday night. A suspect, reportedly affiliated with a banned outfit, was rounded up in the raid.

Officials said they were interrogating the suspect pertaining to the murder of Amjad Sabri, declining to divulge any more information.

On June 22, renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri was gunned down by unknown assailants in Karachi's Liaquatabad area. He was shot multiple times and succumbed to his wounds on his way to a local hospital, police said at the time of assassination.

Amjad Sabri, 45, was one of South Asia's most popular singers of the 'Qawwali' - Sufi devotional music that dates back to more than 700 years. He was the son of renowned Qawwal of the 1960’s, Ghulam Farid Sabri, and the nephew of Qawwali icon Maqbool Sabri, who passed away in 2011.

His brutal assassination came as a shock to almost everyone, with condolences pouring in from not just within, but across the border as well.

Thousands had gathered to offer his funeral prayers the next day and the famed Qawwal was laid to rest next to his father Ghulam Farid Sabri in Paposh Nagar graveyard amid tears and sobs.