KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has announced that the Sindh government will establish Shaheed Amjad Sabri Sufi Music and Qawwali Institute in Karachi.

He assigned the task to a three-member committee led by special assistant to the chief minister Sharmila Faruqi. The decision was taken to pay tribute to the assassinated qawwal besides promoting Sufi teachings through the genre of qawwali.

A statement issued by Bilawal House on Tuesday said the PPP chairman chaired a meeting in which the decision was taken. “Bilawal Bhutto has formed a three-member ministerial committee of the Sindh government for the establishment of the institute,” it said.

“The PPP chairman issued these directives during a meeting with special assistant to chief minister on culture Sharmila Faruqi. The other two committee members are senior minister for education Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and special assistant to CM on religious affairs Dr Abdul Qayum Soomro.”

Ms Faruqi also briefed the PPP chairman about the performance of her department and the projects being undertaken to preserve and promote culture and heritage of Sindh.

Earlier, the PPP chairman drove to the residence of renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri and offered condolence to the bereaved family including mother, brother Sarwat Sabri, sisters and his children.

Accompanied by Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal and his political secretary Jameel Soomro, the PPP chairman said being himself the victim of terrorists, he could feel the pain and trauma that the Sabri family underwent.

The mother of the slain qawwal described Bhutto-Zardari as the heir of martyrs and herself as being a member of a martyr’s family.

Sarwat Sabri, the brother of Qawwal Amjad Sabri, informed the PPP chairman that he had named his son, Bilawal, after him.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said that his party would promote religious harmony and culture to combat the violent extremist mindset that had robbed the people of their national cultural assets. He stayed with the family for some time before addressing the media outside the Sabri House.

However, he evaded answering the question about progress into the Sabri murder investigation by referring it to the home minister. “Let the Sindh government answer that,” he said. His response not only put Mr Siyal into an awkward position but also triggered a debate about his “anger” over the provincial government performance.

The PPP leaders called the debate just a speculative one over TV news channels “for the sake of ratings” and to fill airtime.

“He [Mr Bhutto-Zardari] did right thing I believe,” said Senator Saeed Ghani while speaking to Dawn. “And it’s not the first time that any PPP leader has come up with such reaction. The people who are aware of PPP’s history know it well that whether it’s Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Benazir Bhutto, they always referred questions regarding public interest to the relevant minister or person.”

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2016