Renowned Sufi qawwal Amjad Fareed Sabri was gunned down near his house on wednesday in Karachi’s Liaquatabad area.Two unidentified men intercepted Amjad Sabri, 45, when he was travelling in his car with an associate and fired at Sabri's vehicle.

Sabri was rushed to the hospital immediately where he succumbed to his injuries. The music fraternity lost an icon.

Everyone who heard the news of Sabri's death was shocked and condemned the attack.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Sindh and the top leadership in police unanimously expressed an urgent need to bring the perpetrators to justice.

It is important, however, to see Amjad Sabri's murder in the broader context of violence in Karachi.

Amjad Sabri was the subject of a controversy two years ago when he was issued a notice in a blasphemy case by the Islamabad High Court for singing a qawwali on a TV show which was deemed offensive.

It is still unclear whether Amjad Sabri’s murder is related to the blasphemy case from two years ago or not.

Pakistan mourns the loss of Amjad Sabri and hopes for swift justice for his killers, it must not forget to identify what motivates target killings.