Renowned qawwal Maqbool Ahmed Sabri died of a heart attack on Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa.
He was 60 and had been under treatment in South Africa for two months and was also suffering from diabetes. He leaves behind his widow, three daughters and a son.
Born in 1941 to a lower-income class family in Kalyana, India, Sabri migrated to Karachi with his family and settled in Liaquatabad. He received his qawwali and music training at an early age and recorded his first qawwali at the age of 17 in 1958 …

Coke Studio’s second episode presents a whole new palette of genres and artists and conveys yet another kaleidoscopic view on the diversity of music in Pakistan. The Coke Studio journey continues with a selection of fusion songs that pay tribute to the unique and enduring traditions of classical, folk and qawwali music, side by side with modern compositions by popular contemporary artists.
The episode opens with Sajjad Ali’s “Kirkir Kirkir”. An up-tempo and lively modern track, ‘Kirkir’ is guaranteed to provoke a smile. This …

Social, cultural and religious events are extremely important to protect and promote the identity of the people, community and the country. The environment and system in Canada provides best opportunities to all to express themselves in the manner they desire. This helps in better understanding of the communities and infusion of the spirit to live and work together with respect and tolerance. The result is richness of the society. This is the secret of Canada’s good image.
Qazi Bashiruddin, a renowned religious and social personality of the community, based in Hamilton, …

Karachi has had its taste of classical music recently. The beginning of February was marred with music performances in the city. The 2nd All Pakistan Music Conference just ended with giant classic figures from across the country performing for three days at a stretch. Then concerts by both pop and classical singers have been more frequent than ever with the start of this year. Abida Parveen also performed last week in the city for a Jashan-e-Baharan event and then there was a mega concert of Pakistani pop singers as a …

Pakistan’s Sufi queen Abida Parveen said she will perform a concert in Bombay to boost peace efforts between India and Pakistan.
“Music knows no boundaries,” said Parveen, known for her musical renderings of Urdu poets such as Aamir Khusro, Kabeer and Bulesha.
“I’m happy I will be performing in this city for the first time and pass on the message of peace to my Indian brothers and sisters.”
“If a person stands on the border of India and sings, then no way his voice can be stopped from travelling into Pakistan.”
A number of …

When the late legendary qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan first sang in the United States, his concerts weren’t so different from those he performed in his native Pakistan.
With ecstatic and hypnotic improvised songs based in the ancient poetry of Sufism, the mystic tradition of Islam, Khan electrified audiences for up to five hours. He died in 1997 at the age of 49.
“We had to start cutting performances shorter for people who don’t understand the languages of the music (Farsi, Urdu and Punjabi),” said Rachid Din, who was Khan’s manager …