Junaid Jamshed

Junaid Jamshed Khan (3 September 1964 – 7 December 2016) was a Pakistani Islamic preacher, singer-songwriter and television personality. Jamshed first gained nationwide and international recognition as the vocalist of Vital Signs. Their 1987 album, Vital Signs 1 included the hit singles "Dil Dil Pakistan", and "Tum Mil Gaye". The commercial success of the album helped develop Pakistan's rock music industry.

In 1994, he released his debut solo album, Junaid of Vital Signs followed by Us Rah Par in 1999 and Dil Ki Baat in 2002. In 2004, Jamshed left both his engineering and music careers and, influenced by the Tablighi Jamaat of Deobandis, focused on his religious activities for Islam, reciting nasheeds on television, and releasing them on CDs. Jamshed also owned a clothing boutique with the name "J." (read as "Jay Dot"), which has several outlets throughout Pakistan and some abroad.

Junaid Jamshed and his wife died on 7 December 2016 when PIA Flight 661 crashed in Havelian; the flight was en-route to Islamabad from Chitral. He had been in Chitral for a Tablighi Jamaat mission and was returning to Islamabad.

Early life and education Junaid Jamshed was born in Karachi to Jamshed Akbar Khan (d. 2016), a group captain in the Pakistan Air Force, and Nafeesa Akbar Khan. His father was from Nowshera while his mother was a granddaughter of the nawab of Loharu State. His maternal uncle Sahibzada Jahangir, nicknamed "Chico", is a businessman based in London who has been one of the founding members of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, and whose son Sherry Jahangir was an actor better known for his role as M.A. Jinnah in PTV classic drama Jinnah Se Quaid, while another son, Kafeel Jahangir, was an England-based domestic cricketer who has played as an all-rounder for Hertfordshire. Other relatives include politician Fauzia Kasuri, who was his aunt,

After graduating from an international boarding high school in Yanbu' al Bahr in Saudi Arabia, Jamshed wanted to join the Pakistan Air Force as a fighter pilot.

After graduating with a degree in engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, Jamshed briefly worked as a civilian contractor and engineer for the Pakistan Air Force before focusing on a musical career.

Music career

Vital Signs Although the band Vital Signs began in early 1986 in Rawalpindi by Keyboardist Rohail Hyatt and bassist Shahzad Hasan (Shahi), it was not until later that Jamshed, then a young engineering student from UET Lahore, joined them as their lead singer. They began performing in different parts of the country after having secured a place in the underground music industry in Islamabad and Lahore. In a live concert in Islamabad, the band got noticed and approached by the music officials of the PTV, and a record deal was awarded by Rana Kanwal, a student of the National Academy of Performing Arts.

Solo career Jamshed released his first solo album, Junaid of Vital Signs in 1994. The album's name was later changed to Tumhara Aur Mera Naam by the record producers. After departing from Vital Signs in 1998, Jamshed released the second solo album, the Us Rah Par (lit. On that way.) in 1999. The second solo album, Us Rah Par went on to become one of the best selling albums of 1999. The album included several singles which became popular and were ultimate sleeper hits. All songs were written by Jamshed and the majority of such songs as, "Us Rah Par", "Na Tu Ayegi", "Aankhon Ko Aankhon Ney" and "O Sanama", were ultimate success and commercial hits of all time. In 2000, Jamshed released his third album, The Best of Junaid Jamshed, which contained remixes of some of the hit singles of the Vital Signs era, though it captured the mix success. His fourth and last solo album, Dil Ki Baat, was released in 2001, which became highly successful in the country and gained a lot of public and media attention.

In 2003, BBC World Service conducted a poll to choose the most popular songs. Around 7,000 songs were selected from all over the world. According to BBC, people from 155 countries/territories voted in the poll. "Dil Dil Pakistan" was ranked third among the top 10 songs.

Drift from music

As early as 1999, the media began speculating about Jamshed's drift from music soon after the Vital Signs faded away. The speculations soon died after Jamshed released his solo albums and continued world tours. After 2001, Jamshed disappeared from the public eye and avoided media attention. His last two albums did not do well in the market and failed to get any positive response from the country's music critics. His former bandmates, Shahzad Hassan and Rohail Hyatt, saw him struggling to negotiate the transition from one world to another. He became distant from Hyatt, who continued to work on producing music. Jamshed then left engineering and, to supplement his income, he opened the clothing store "J.", selling Khaadis (a form of Kurta-Shalwar). When offered the role, Jamshed maintained that he will "shave his beard" for the film and the role for Jamshed was written by Mansoor. Jamshed later refused to be a part of the film and Mansoor maintained that: "Responses like this one convinced people that Jamshed was not certain about his future, and that the Islamist experience was just a phase."

Influence In 1986, Jamshed earned a lot of publicity with the Vital Signs' hit rock song, Do Pal Ka. The Vital Signs band became popular with Pakistan's media after the success of the patriotic Dil Dil Pakistan. He has been listed by The Muslim 500 as one of the "World's Most Influential Muslims" for his involvement in charity work, especially with the NGO Muslim Charity from 2003 until his death in 2016. It stated that "(the) Muslim Charity has achieved a great deal under his leadership and expanded its operations to 16 countries."

Death Jamshed was in Chitral, along with his second wife, Nayha Junaid, for a Tablighi Jamaat mission. On 7 December 2016, the two were returning to Islamabad aboard PIA Flight 661, which crashed near Havelian, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing all on board. Jamshed was en-route to deliver the Friday sermon at the Parliament mosque. He was survived by his first wife, Ayesha, three sons, and a daughter. On 15 December 2016, his funeral prayer offered in Moin Khan Academy, Karachi where Tariq Jamil led his funeral prayer.

Discography

Vital Signs 1989: Vital Signs 1 1991: Vital Signs 2 1993: Aitebar 1995: Hum Tum

Solo

Pop albums 1994 – Junaid of Vital Signs, renamed Tumhara Aur Mera Naam 1999 – Us Rah Par 2000 – The Best of Junaid Jamshed 2002 – Dil Ki Baat

Nasheed albums 2005 – Jalwa-e-Janan (The Sight of the Beloved) 2006 – Mehboob-e-Yazdan (The Beloved of God) 2007 – Badr-ud-Duja (The Night's Full Moon) 2008 – Yad-e-Haram 2009 – Rehmat Ul Lil Aalamin 2009 – Badi uz Zaman (The Wonder of the Age) 2010 – Mera Dil Badal De ([Oh Allah!] change me) 2010 – Hadi Ul Anaam (The Guide to the World) 2011 – Rabi-Zidn-e-Ilma (O'Lord! Please Increase My Knowledge!) 2013 – Noor-Ul-Huda

Filmography