Amjad Saberi’s killer gets death penalty along with 9 terrorists

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Army Chief General has confirmed on Monday sentenced to death 10 militants, including the killer of famed Sufi singer and qawwali maestro Amjad Fareed Sabri, according to a military statement.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media arm, the convicts were guilty of taking part in heinous offences related to terrorism that killed 62 people, including 5 children, 11 police officials and 46 army personnel.

Of those who were sentence Muhammad Ishaq and Muhammad Asim — confessed to their involvement of killing acclaimed Sufi singer and qawwali maestro Sabri

45-year-old Sabri was shot dead by motorcycle-borne gunmen when he was travelling to a television studio for an “iftar” transmission on June 22, 2016 in Karachi.

Sabri was hit by five bullets and was declared dead on arrival at hospital triggering an outpouring of grief nationwide.

Sabri was a ‘Qawwal’, or singer of ‘Qawwali’, which is a traditional form of Islamic devotional music that is popular across South Asia with roots tracing back to the 13th century.

Sabri was the son of another legendary Qawwali singer, Ghulam Farid Sabri who died in 1994, was a fixture on national television and regularly performed on a morning show during the ongoing holy Muslim month of Ramadan.