Thousands paid their respects, throwing rose petals over an ambulance carrying his coffin. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed Wednesday's attack.

Sabri performed Qawwali devotional music from the Sufi tradition, an Islamic practice opposed by extremists.

He will be laid to rest in Paposhnagar Graveyard next to his father, Qawwali legend Ghulam Farid Sabri.

One reason for this huge attendance may be because Amjad Sabri was so well known across the country.

Sabri was also a friendly character. Neighbours said he would often play a carrom board game with boys from the area on the pavements outside their houses. And he was on intimate talking terms with shopkeepers running tea stalls, grocery shops or cigarette booths along the narrow street leading to his house.

Another unusual thing was the presence of women, who are normally never a part of funeral processions. Dozens of women lined up along the pavement and a nearby pedestrian bridge.

Several announcements were made from the public address system asking the women to climb down from the bridge as it could break. I saw there women aged 17 to 70 years.

One woman said it was hard for women to leave home during Ramadan because there was so much work, but "we have come because he was like a brother to us, and because he earned his fame by praising God".