Tributes pour in for Amjad Sabri

Karachi

They could only eliminate Amjad Sabri physically, but his voice is still alive, which will last forever and people will never forget him.

These views were expressed by research scholar Dr HA Wasti while talking to The News on Thursday.

Expressing his deep grief over the murder of the famed Sufi artiste, Dr Wasti said Amjad Sabri was martyred because of his love for the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and the family members of the last Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

“It wasn’t the assassination of a man, but the murder of freedom of expression.” Explaining his viewpoint, Dr Wasti added that most of his qawwalis were a reflection of his deep love for the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and his family.

“The enemies of Islam resented him and killed him in cold blood.”

Writer, poet and translator Zulfiqar Gadhi observed that it was a coldblooded murder and people were still shocked as it was not believable that someone could take the life of the renowned Sufi singer who had never hurt anyone.

Gadhi noted that Sabri was above groupings, sectarianism and other biases and he had never issued any statement that could create restlessness among any sections of society.

“It is simply horrible to kill such an innocent person.”

Gadhi highlighted that while following the footsteps of his father Ghulam Farid Sabri and uncle Maqbool Ahmed Sabiri, he not only kept the family tradition alive but also enriched music by introducing a relatively fresh trend of Sufi music and singing qawwali in an innovative style .

Humera Suwet Siddiqi recalled that Amjad was the living legend who accepted the challenge of singing and enriching the art of singing Sufi Qawwali while valuing all the due technical requirement of music and verses.

Moreover, Amjad once again sang all those qawaalis earlier sung by his father and his uncle and their team; however, Amjad assisted by a new team made his mark in the field of qawwali singing and he became famous the world over because of his great art of Sufi singing, she said.

Humera mentioned that Amjad Sabri was also popular among the members of the Arts Council.

Advocate Adil Khan Zai said that Amjad had become a legend at a very young age. “He was a perfect maestro in qawwali singing.”

He said his father and his uncle had set a fresh trend in Sufi music by singing ‘Bhar Doi Jholi’, ‘Mera Koi Naheen’,  ‘Tajdaar-e-Haram’ and such singing was liked across the subcontinent.

“Amjad was commended by everyone in the world whoever loved the art of Sufi singing.”  

Adil Khan Zai demanded of the rulers to take every step for the arrest of the terrorists involved in the murder of Amjad Sabri and bring the criminals to justice.

Scholar Qamar Afzal Qamar strongly condemned the targeted killing of the great of the Sufi singer, adding that it was a great loss to the art of music and qawwali singing.

“He was equally popular among the common man and the younger generations,” Qamar added.

Commenting on the art of Amjad Sabri, Qamar said that he had enriched the art of qawaali singing by presenting the work of his father and uncle in a new way and with a fresh musical touch.

“He also introduced a new style of singing. He was equally popular among the common man and the younger generations,” he added.