Yes! Wazeer e Azam Salman Ahmed sounds nice!
Junoon leader may join Imran party
LAHORE — The frontman and lead guitarist of Pakistan’s famous rock band, Junoon, plans to formally join the party of his long-time idol, cricketer-turned-philanthropist-turned politician Imran Khan.
“Yes, I’m thinking about joining Tehrik-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice),” Salman Ahmed, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations on the worldwide campaign against Aids, said when approached for comments.
“I like Tehrik-e-Insaf because the party and its leader Imran Khan are supporters, like myself, of peace and justice,” Ahmed, who recently handed over a cheque of $600,000 as donation for relief assistance to the Afghan refugees on behalf of Junoon, said.
The rock star said his admiration for the philanthropy of Imran Khan recently took him to the native region of the former Pakistan cricket captain where the people of Mianwali expressed their love for Junoon and its social themes of justice and peace. “The popularity for Junoon that I encountered in Imran Khan’s hometown surpasses even that reserved for such traditional folk singers as the famous local singer Ataullah Isakhelvi,” Ahmed said.
About the future plans of his group, Ahmed who counts Led Zeppelin, Santana and U2 as his influences, said Junoon would leave for a world tour on April 25 during which they would perform for international audiences across several American and European cities.
Junoon last month charted up yet another success by releasing the first-ever live rock album of Pakistan.
Titled Daur-e-Junoon (the Era of Passion), the album features the group’s hits recorded live around the world – from North America to Europe – including the performances at the United Nations, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, and many more.
The new album also includes new songs written by Ahmed and vocalist Ali Azmat plus live songs recorded on their recent tour of US after September 11, from Japan, China, Norway, Ground Zero, and their show at the United Nations. US channel VH1 recently ran a news special about Junoon, saying it was a Pakistani rock group that has defied religious fundamentalism – and sold millions of albums doing it.
Two members of the band – Salman and Ali – are practicing Muslims from Pakistan and the third – bass guitarist Brian ‘O Connell – is an Irish Catholic from New York.
On October 9, John Lennon’s birthday, the band gave a benefit concert for Afghan refugees in Islamabad. It has won the award for best international band on India’s version of the MTV awards, beating the Backstreet Boys. — Internews