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Watch Some of Murdered Pakistani Singer Amjad Sabri’s Most Popular Performances

Amjad Sabri was gunned down in Karachi Wednesday by assailants on motorcycles.

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Pakistani Shiite Muslim protesters shout slogans beside lighted oil lamp to pay tribute to Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen, in Islamabad on June 22, 2016. One of Pakistan's best known Sufi musicians was shot dead by unknown assailants riding a motorcycle in Karachi on June 22, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an "act of terror". Amjad Sabri, aged around 45, was travelling by car from his home in the city's eastern Korangi area to a television studio, when a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire, Farooq Sanjarani, a police officer told AFP. / AFP / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistani Shiite Muslim protesters shout slogans beside lighted oil lamp to pay tribute to Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen, in Islamabad on June 22, 2016. One of Pakistan's best known Sufi musicians was shot dead by unknown assailants riding a motorcycle in Karachi on June 22, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an "act of terror". Amjad Sabri, aged around 45, was travelling by car from his home in the city's eastern Korangi area to a television studio, when a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire, Farooq Sanjarani, a police officer told AFP. / AFP / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pakistani Shiite Muslim protesters shout slogans beside lighted oil lamp to pay tribute to Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen, in Islamabad on June 22, 2016. One of Pakistan's best known Sufi musicians was shot dead by unknown assailants riding a motorcycle in Karachi on June 22, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an "act of terror". Amjad Sabri, aged around 45, was travelling by car from his home in the city's eastern Korangi area to a television studio, when a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire, Farooq Sanjarani, a police officer told AFP. / AFP / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2014, the Islamabad High Court issued a blasphemy notice against Pakistani singer Amjad Sabri for mentioning the Prophet Mohammed’s family in a song and dance routine that was broadcast on local television channels.

In 2014, the Islamabad High Court issued a blasphemy notice against Pakistani singer Amjad Sabri for mentioning the Prophet Mohammed’s family in a song and dance routine that was broadcast on local television channels.

On Wednesday, Sabri was murdered in Karachi by gunmen who shot him five times through the window of his car before fleeing on motorcycles.

Sabri, who sang Qawwali — a centuries-old musical tradition related to the mystical Sufi practice — died en route to a nearby hospital.

Although the assailants have not yet been identified, Sufis are a minority in Pakistan and many Islamist extremists oppose Qawwali music because they believe it violates sharia law. The Pakistani police said Sabri’s murder was a “targeted killing and an act of terrorism.”

Pakistanis mourned the loss of Sabri on Twitter Wednesday, in some cases blaming the government for failing to curb militant groups operating in the country. The Taliban has repeatedly targeted prominent individuals who do not share their beliefs, including, most famously, Malala Yousafzai, the student who was shot for standing up for her right to an education.

Below, Foreign Policy has embedded videos of some of Sabri’s songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_myVQn1eQo

Photo credit: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images

Tags: Pakistan, Taliban

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