Who was Junaid Jamshed? Pakistan plane crash victim accused of blaspheming Prophet who died with wife and family on flight PK-661
A PAKISTANI pop star and his family were among the victims of the doomed flight PK-661.
Junaid Jamshed — who had been accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad — died with his wife and family when the Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed near the town of Havelian on 7 December.
But who was Junaid Jamshed, why is he famous and why did he have to issue a public apology for alleged blasphemy?
Who was Junaid Jamshed?
Junaid Jamshed, 52, was a recording artist who began his music career in 1983.
The engineering graduate from the University Of Engineering And Technology in Lahore also spent time in the Pakistan Air Force.
He had hopes of becoming an F-16 fighter pilot but could not complete the training due to bad eyesight.
He was a member of the band Vital Signs as lead singer and released their debut album, Vital Signs 1, in 1989.
They went on to release three more albums and became one of Pakistan's leading music acts.
He launched a solo career in 1994 with the album Junaid Of Vital Signs followed by Us Rah Par and his final album in 2001.
Jamshed also tried his hand at acting, staring in the series Dhundle Raste on PTV.
Why was Jamshed accused of blasphemy?
In 2014 Jamshed was forced to release a public apology after a video of him appearing to criticise the Prophet Muhammad's wife was shared on social media.
An investigation into suspected blasphemy into the singer was launched by authorities.
The video went viral and prompted hundreds of people to protest and call for his arrest for "hurting religious sentiments of Muslims", according to the .
Sarwat Ijaz Qadri, then chief of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek organisation, said: "Juniad Jamshed should be immediately arrested and put on trial under the blasphemy laws.
"He doesn't deserve to be forgiven for his sacrilegious remarks about the Mother of Believers, Hazrat Ayesha."
Jamshed was even attacked at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport by protesters.
What happened to flight PK-661?
The Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed killing 48 people.
It was reported the flight lost contact with ground control and was missing shortly after taking off from the northern city of Chitral.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his "deep grief and sorrow" over the crash.
In a statement, he said "the entire nation is deeply saddened over today's unfortunate crash and shares the grief of the families who lost their dear ones."
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