On Wednesday, famous Pakistani qawwal Amjad Sabri was killed by assailants in Liaquatabad, Karachi. His elder sibling Sarwat Sabri speaks about the shocking turn of events. Excerpts:

On the morning of June 22, your brother had sung for a special Ramadan programme. What happened later that evening?
I got the devastating news when I was in London. Amjad normally used to take the Liaquatabad route to work. He was going to a channel's office for a programme. Amjad ki kissise dushmani nahin thi (he didn't have any enemies). He always spread the message of love and peace. I don't know whether to smile or cry at the moment, kyun ki hamare liye toh yeh shaheedi maani jaati hai.

Fakhr-e-Alam, chairman of the Sindh Censor Board, claimed in a tweet that your brother had earlier submitted an application for security, but the Home Department didn't act on it and later denied it. Did he fear that there a threat to his life?
Any known face in Karachi faces a threat today, but Amjad was not worried about it. He was an 'unthreatened person', who only feared God and no one else. He had not approached the Home Department for security. In fact, the Home Department reacted quickly to the assassination as everyone loved him. All the politicians from the government's side and from the opposition have paid their last respects to him.

Your mother, Asghari Begum, told a channel that about six months back, three unknown assailants had barged into their Karachi residence but eventually left since Amjad was not at home...
Yes, it is true. Some gunmen had stormed into our house. My sister, who is extremely brave, literally kicked them out. Karachi is in a state of anarchy at the moment and a political disaster is brewing.

Now, who will carry the legacy of the Sabri Brothers forward?
There are quite a few young men in the family. My son and my brothers' kids are keen to learn Sufi music. They are all under 15 and have already started training. My uncle, the famous Maqbool Sabri, would visit us in London. He would train my son and Amjad would come to meet us too. He was a dear friend to my children. Every time he paid us a visit, all of us would play cricket. I used to speak to him at least twice a week.

What was your last meeting like?
Three months ago, he was in London to attend an awards ceremony. We went to the local mosque in Southall. The Imam met him and we were very happy. All those are memories now...