--- description: The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination title: Pakistan Mourns Shooting Death of Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42112de63fe0c885/698899130b72e3ac256e9e9e/gettyimages-542123680.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pakistan](/tag/pakistan/) ## Pakistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pakistan Mourns Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri After He Was Shot Dead in Karachi by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 6:19 AM CUT  Pakistani security officials inspect the bullet-riddled car of Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen, at a morgue in Karachi on June 22, 2016. Pakistani security officials inspect the bullet-riddled car of Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen, at a morgue in Karachi on June 22, 2016.ASIF HASSAN—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 6:19 AM CUT Thousands of people in Pakistan [mourned](http://www.dawn.com/news/1266523/pakistan-mourns-cultural-ambassador-amjad-sabri "undefined") the death of one of the country’s most famous musicians, Amjad Sabri, on Thursday, a day after he was shot dead by armed assailants in broad daylight in the city of Karachi. Dozens of people including prominent sportspeople, movie stars and fellow singers gathered outside Sabri’s home ahead of his funeral, [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36603847?ocid=socialflow%5Ftwitter "undefined") the BBC and many fans also [expressed](http://www.dawn.com/news/1266523/pakistan-mourns-cultural-ambassador-amjad-sabri "undefined") their condolences on social media. Demonstrations against the assassination were also held overnight in various parts of the country. Sabri, a notable Sufi singer known for his devotional music called Qawwali, was traveling through the city’s central Liaquatabad neighborhood with an associate when two gunmen on a motorcycle [opened fire](http://www.dawn.com/news/1266514 "undefined") on his car, [according](http://www.dawn.com/news/1266514/famed-qawwal-amjad-sabri-gunned-down-in-karachi "undefined") to Pakistani newspaper _Dawn_. He reportedly suffered gunshot wounds to the head and leg and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries. A spokesman for the TTP, the Pakistani branch of the Taliban militant group, claimed responsibility for the 45-year-old singer’s murder, although the motive was not immediately clear. Sabri had been booked under Pakistan’s blasphemy law two years ago after one of his songs mentioned relatives of the Prophet Muhammad — an act considered taboo in the Muslim-majority nation. It is not yet known whether the song was related to his death. Sufism — a brand of Islam that’s steeped in mysticism — has millions of followers in Pakistan. But the Taliban have been known to target those with links to Sufism. \[[_Dawn_](http://www.dawn.com/news/1266523/pakistan-mourns-cultural-ambassador-amjad-sabri "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4379348/pakistan-amjad-sabri-sufi-singer-dead-shot-taliban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4379348/pakistan-amjad-sabri-sufi-singer-dead-shot-taliban/"},"headline":"Pakistan Mourns Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri After He Was Shot Dead in Karachi","datePublished":"2016-06-23T06:19:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:47:23.742Z","description":"The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination","url":"https://time.com/4379348/pakistan-amjad-sabri-sufi-singer-dead-shot-taliban/","keywords":["Pakistan","Taliban","Dead","singer","killed","karachi","shot"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42112de63fe0c885/698899130b72e3ac256e9e9e/gettyimages-542123680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42112de63fe0c885/698899130b72e3ac256e9e9e/gettyimages-542123680.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PAKISTAN-UNREST-KARACHI-SUFISM-SABRI","caption":"PAKISTAN-UNREST-KARACHI-SUFISM-SABRI","creditText":"ASIF HASSAN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pakistan/","name":"Pakistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4379348/pakistan-amjad-sabri-sufi-singer-dead-shot-taliban/","name":"Pakistan Mourns Sufi Singer Amjad Sabri After He Was Shot Dead in Karachi"}}]}] ```