Pakistan arrests militants over murder of famed singer

KARACHI - Pakistani police have arrested two militants accused of assassinating one of the country’s best known Sufi musicians, a provincial minister said Monday. Amjad Sabri, a renowned Qawwal or sufi singer was shot dead by two gunmen riding a motorcycle in Karachi in June, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an “act of terror”. Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, said that police late Sunday arrested two militants suspected of involvement in Sabri’s murder. “For the first time we are officially announcing... with conclusive proof that these very people were involved in Amjad Sabri’s murder,” Shah told reporters. He said both the suspects belonged to the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militant group - a faction of which claimed to have worked with Daesh (the so-called Islamic State) to attack a police academy in southwestern Pakistan last month killing 61 people, the deadliest assault on a security installation in the country’s history. The suspects were also responsible for 28 terror attacks against army personnel, policemen and Shiites, he added. Sabri was a fixture on national television and regularly performed on a morning show during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, winning many admirers for his devotional music, humble lifestyle and charitable work. - AFP