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Note: Members of the Pakistani rock band Junoon will be available for interviews. Beta footage of the band also is available. For more information, contact University Relations.
LAWRENCE -- The tensions between India and Pakistan may be half a world away, but a group of students at the University of Kansas is doing its part to promote peace there.
Students in the Pakistani Cultural Club at KU have organized the Peace Symposium to raise awareness for a peaceful resolution between the neighboring rivals. Following the symposium, the Pakistani rock band Junoon will hold a benefit concert to raise money for children's charities in that region.
The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, in Alderson Auditorium of the Kansas Union.
Scheduled speakers at the symposium include Habeel Gazel, a 22-year-old University of Missouri-Kansas City student who spent most of his formative years growing up in Kashmir, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; Kathryn Libal, lecturer in women's studies and American studies at KU; and Shahid Qadri, general manager of energy services, Division of Eastern Affairs at Black and Veatch Corp.
After the symposium, Junoon will perform in a benefit concert titled "Passion for Peace" at 8 p.m. at the Lied Center of Kansas. Doors open for the concert at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.50 for students with student ID and $25.50 for the general public.
Junoon, hailed as the "U2 of Asia," has received international praise for its peace activism and anti-terrorism stance. The band, which plays an eclectic mix of Western rock, traditional Punjabi folk music and Sufi poetry, played at several fund-raisers for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Band member Salman Ahmad also is a goodwill ambassador for HIV and AIDS awareness to the United Nations.
A significant portion of the proceeds from the benefit concert will be donated to the U.N. International Children's Emergency Fund and Amnesty International.
Tania Nazir, Overland Park senior and president of the Pakistani Cultural Club at KU, said she hopes the peace symposium and concert help people gain a different perspective of topics making headlines.
"Because America is a superpower, we as Americans affect what happens in other parts of the world," she said. "We need to be better informed so we can make better decisions concerning U.S. involvement in the India-Pakistan conflict."
After developing the idea to hold a benefit concert to aid children's charities in that region, Nazir approached Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and International Programs at KU, for help.
Carlin suggested they also organize the Peace Symposium as a way to include an educational element with their humanitarian efforts.
"I hope the community comes away with several things, namely a better understanding of this conflict -- its roots and potential risks -- and how it can impact our foreign policy," Carlin said. "The most important aspect is getting more of us to have a bigger interest in international affairs and having a better understanding of the U.S. role in an interdependent world."
Tickets for Junoon's benefit concert can be purchased at all KU ticket offices: Student Union Activities, (785) 864-SHOW; the Lied Center, (785) 864-2787; and Murphy Hall, (785) 864-3982.
To purchase a VIP ticket for $75, which reserves seating in the first two rows, or to become a VIP donor, $250 for two front row seats and backstage passes to meet the band after the concert, call (913) 707-3807 or (913) 515-3792.
Additional information about the symposium and concert can be found at the Pakistani Cultural Club Web site, www.ku.edu/~pcc.
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