LAHORE, March 22: Pop singer Junaid Jamshed announced here on Friday he was going to stop singing to be a preacher.

Speaking at a press conference, he said he had been thinking about it for quite some time. Now, he said, he had finally made up his mind. He said the way people, particularly the youth, idolzed celebrities had been a factor in his decision. Recently, he said, some young people, who had started by learning the Holy Quran by heart, had told him he had inspired them to seek careers in music. “This compounded my guilt,” he added.

He said he hoped to inspire more people as a preacher than he had as a singer.

Mr Jamshed told newsmen that his last album, Sadaf, would be launched after Muharram. He said this might require some appearances on television or in public.

He also said his family supported his decision. “They are a religious-minded people,” he explained. “I was the only exception.”