Site of the plane crash in Abbottabad. (Source: local police/ Dawn news) Site of the plane crash in Abbottabad. (Source: local police/ Dawn news)

Pakistan’s famous pop star-turned-Islamic-preacher Junaid Jamshed was on board the ill-fated PK-661 flight that crashed today near Havelian while on its way to the national capital. 52-year-old Jamshed, a famous evangelist and a high-profile member of the Tablighi Jamaat, was returning from Chitral where he had gone for preaching-related work.

The passenger list of the Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-661 includes Jamshed and his wife’s names. All 47 people on board the ATR plane were feared dead after the flight crashed in the hilly area near Havelian while en route to Islamabad from Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

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Jamshed’s brother reportedly confirmed that he was on board the flight, along with his wife. His fellow preacher Mehmood Alam told Geo News that Jamshed was in Chitral for a preaching trip of 10 days.

“Heaven on Earth Chitral. With my friends in the Path of Allah. Snowpacked Tirchmir right behind us,” bearded Jamshed had tweeted on December 4 along with some of his pictures in traditional attire.

Before joining the Tablighi Jamaat, Jamshed was one of Pakistan’s best loved pop singers, famous for hits in the 1980s such as “Dil Dil Pakistan”. He often appeared on TV advertisements to give products a religious endorsement and also had a chain of fashion boutiques.

A FIR was registered against him in 2014, accusing the preacher of blashpmehy after he made some controversial remarks. Later, he apologised for those remarks. In March this year, the scholar was subjected to public ridicule at Islamabad airport where a group of infuriated people assaulted him.

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