KARACHI: Pakistani investigators have uncovered "important leads" in the murder case of one of the country's finest Sufi Qawwals Amjad Sabri, who was shot dead by Taliban militants this week, the government claimed today.
Sindh province Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah said progress has been made in Sabri's murder investigation.
"The law enforcement departments have uncovered important leads in the murder of Amjad Sabri," Shah said in a statement to the provincial assembly.
He assured the House that the killers of 45-year-old Sabri, who was fatally attacked on Wednesday in Karachi by two unidentified bike-borne gunmen, will be arrested soon.
The chief minister announced a compensation of 10 million rupees for Sabri's family and said his wife will be offered a government job.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Hakimullah Masood group, which has said it was against any form of Sufism, has claimed the attack on Sabri. Since Sabri's killing, grief and anger have gripped Pakistan with TV channels and the print media highlighting the state of lawlessness in the country's largest city Karachi.
Police have so far been unable to arrest the gunmen behind the attack on Sabri, who was shot in the chest and head.
Shah, however, claimed that the law and order situation in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, has improved since an operation was launched against militants and criminals in the port city in September 2013.
But Sabri's killing was not the only recent incident that highlighted the state of insecurity in Karachi.
Ovais Sajjad Shah, son of the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, was abducted in broad daylight by armed men from outside a popular mart in a posh Karachi area on Monday.
Shah said all resources were being mobilised to track down the kidnappers of Ovais, an advocate who was pleading around 90 cases, including the one where he was hired by 700 sacked employees of the Karachi Port Trust to fight their case.
The Sindh government, rangers and police have come under intense criticism and pressure following the killing of Sabri.
The latest murder showed that despite apparent calm, the city still faces the threat of resurgence of violence and targeted killings.
Sabri was keeping the family tradition alive and was one of the most sought-after Qawwals in Pakistan. Some of his most memorable qawwalis were 'Bhar Do Jholi Meri', 'Tajdar-i-Haram' and 'Mera Koi Nahin Hai Teray Siwa'.