KARACHI: Former singer who gained outstanding popularity from national song ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ and later its transformation into famous religious icon after his full fledged dedication to Islam is what all know about Junaid Jamshed Khan. The person with magnificent personality is equally renowned and respectable in almost all circles of the country despite he was hit by many controversies.
In latest PIA’s PK-661 plane crash incident, the veteran personality is feared dead along with his wife, Nahya Jamshed, while travelling back to Islamabad from Chitral after completion of tour for preaching of Islam.
Junaid Jamshed was born on September 3, 1964 in Karachi. After graduating with a degree in engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology (Lahore), he briefly worked as a civilian contractor and engineer for the Pakistan Air Force before focusing on a musical career.
He soon began performing on various local university campuses before being noticed by pop singer Rohail Hyatt in 1983. With the help of Hyatt and Nusrat Hussain, Jamshed was inducted into the singing group Vital Signs and signed a record deal with record executive and producer Shoaib Mansoor to his PTV Music Studio.
Jamshed first gained nationwide prominence and international recognition as group ‘Vital Signs’ vocalist in 1987 with the album, Vital Signs 1.
The album topped the Music Channel Charts around the country. It included the number one single “Dil Dil Pakistan”, and “Tum Mil Gaye”.
In 1994, he released his debut solo album, Junaid of Vital Signs, which also quickly became a national hit, followed by Us Rah Par in 1999 and Dil Ki Baat in 2002.
In 2004, Jamshed left both his engineering and music careers and, since then, has focused on his religious activities for Islam and reciting nasheeds on TV and releasing them on CD’s.
His debut religious album, Jalwa-e-Janan was released in 2005 and was followed by Mehboob-e-Yazdaan in 2006, Badr-ud-Duja in 2008, and Badee-uz-Zaman in 2009. Jamshed also owns a clothing boutique with the name “J.” (read as “Jay Dot”), which has several outlets throughout Pakistan.
