Junoon dedicates UK concerts to Kashmir cause

The band will tour Leeds and London

The iconic Sufi rock band Junoon is gearing up for yet another tour, scheduling two back-to-back concerts in the United Kingdom (UK) on August 25 and August 26.

Entitled as The Comeback Tour, the first concert will take place at SSE Arena in Wembley – a town in North West London – while the other will be held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds the following day.

London is going to be a Junooni jam session! Sing along! https://t.co/SuyXdtavdE https://t.co/C2dOZPC8yQ

— Salman Ahmad (@sufisal) August 16, 2019

Taking to Twitter, the band’s lead guitarist Salman Ahmad said, "As a UNGWA I am dedicating August 25 #Junoon rock concert in London to #Kashmir. Its silenced millions incarcerated in their own homes require humanitarian assistance."

As a UNGWA I’m dedicating Aug 25 #Junoon rock concert in London to #Kashmir. its silenced millions incarcerated in their own homes require humanitarian assistance. @UNICEF @UN @Refugees @witnessorg @geonews_urdu

— Salman Ahmad (@sufisal) August 15, 2019

In 2008, 'Junoon' (Ahmad as a solo act) went live on stage in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) beside the shimmering waters of Srinagar's Dal Lake. The band was the first international group to perform in the conflict-torn region.

Despite the leading Kashmiri militant, Syed Salahuddin, head of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen group's threats to the Pakistani government to not allow Ahmad to travel to Srinagar, he did.

https://twitter.com/sufisal/status/1162505060036816907

Junoon — which comprises of Ali Azmat, the vocalist and Brian O’Connell as the bassist, apart from Ahmed — came back together in Karachi on the birth anniversary of the country’s founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in December last year.

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