Group to perform in Srinagar

Srinagar, India: Indian Kashmir's main city was abuzz for a rare event - a performance by a Pakistani band.

The group Junoon is scheduled to perform today in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, before nearly 17,000 people, Karan Khosla, a spokesman for the Indian chapter of the South Asia Foundation, said yesterday.

"The concert is an effort to cement regional cooperation through cultural activity and is an investment in peace," Khosla said.

The Junoon group synthesises loud guitar riffs with mystic and revolutionary poetry by the likes of Baba Bulleh Shah and Allama Iqbal.

Some Pakistani singers and musicians have individually visited Indian Kashmir, but today's performance would apparently be the first by a band.

"Music is a tremendous healer, and I'm sure events like this will defuse hatred between the two countries, a said Mudasir Ahmad, a law graduate at the University of Kashmir.