Offbeat | Singer-turned preacher investigated for blasphemy

Police in Pakistan say they have opened a blasphemy investigation against a pop singer-turned Islamic preacher accused of insulting one of the wives of Islam’s prophet. Police officer Sheraz Majid said Wednesday that officials opened the case Tuesday against Junaid Jamshed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.
He said the police were responding to a complaint by the Pakistani Sunni Tehreek party over a video released over the weekend. In the video Jamshed appeared to insult one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad while making a point about women’s flaws. Under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam, its Prophet Muhammad or other religious personalities of Islam can be sentenced to death. Jamshed swiftly apologized over his remarks in a video statement Tuesday.