IN scorching heat and without electricity, Sheikh Mohammed Sabir Chishti sits at a makeshift seating area on the side of the road leading to Teen Hatti in PIB Colony.

The grief-stricken man is being consoled by his relatives, who are coming to express condolences over the tragedy befallen the famed family of singers.

Mr Chishti’s son-in-law, Raza Sabri and maternal uncle, Ahmed Sabri, were gunned down in a deadly bus attack in Zhob on Wednesday.

Raza was the son of Mr Ahmed.

The two men, along with their fellow musicians, were going to Quetta to perform at an event.

Asif, who played musical instruments, was also killed as terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on the bus.

While the two families are not related, the killing of three musicians in Balochistan is the second such tragedy to befall the community after the assassination of Amjad Sabri nine years ago

Slain Ahmed’s three brothers, Imran, Nasir and Faisal, remained safe in the attack.

Mr Chishti tells Dawn that 12 people, including four Sabri brothers, left Karachi on Wednesday.

At around 4pm, Faisal called to inform about the attack, said Mr Chishti.

Talking about his son-in-law, Mr Chishti said he was a father of a six-month-old son. Mr Ahmed had eight children.

He said the musician brothers were invited by a senior official to perform at an event in Quetta.

Talking about his family, he said there were seven Sabri brothers, all of them qawwals. One of them died of natural causes and now Ahmed has been gunned down along with his son.

Mr Chishti clarified that though they share the surname with famed qawwal Amjad Sabri, the two families were not related to each other.

Mr Amjad was shot dead in Karachi in 2016.

Shakoor Ahmed Sabri, a representative of Sabri qawwals, said Wednesday’s killings were the second major attack on musicians since the assassination of Mr Amjad.

He said the killings have “devastated” qawwals all over the country.

“We are qawals and we sing the greatness of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). We have nothing to do with politics,” said Mr Shakoor, who presented himself as an “elder” of the Sabri qawwal community.

Funeral

The bodies of three slain musicians have been brought back to Karachi by air. However, the three Sabri brothers, who survived the attack, have yet to return as they are looking after their injured group members in Quetta.

The funeral will be held after Friday prayers at the KMC ground in PIB Colony, according to Majid Sabri, the elder brother of Mr Ahmed.

He urged the governments of Sindh and Balochistan to facilitate the return of the survivors, including his three brothers, from Quetta to attend the funeral prayer.

Several political leaders and lawmakers have visited the grieving family and expressed their condolences.

Sindh minister Saeed Ghani, who received the coffins at the airport, said the Sabri qawals were on their way to perform their art.

He assured justice would be served and the Sindh government was in touch with Balochistan to extend every possible medical facility to the injured persons there.

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori also visited the residence of Sabri qawwals and offered his condolences.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2025