Bryan Adams concert reminds Pakistan of summer of '79

KARACHI: When Canadian rocker Bryan Adams plays the huge Arabian City club in Karachi on Sunday, he will do more than just thrill entertainment-starved teenagers in Pakistan.

The concert is also being taken as a sign that the violence-plagued metropolis of around 12 million people is undergoing a cultural revival after two decades of sectarian, ethnic and criminal bloodletting.

"Adams's arrival and performance in Karachi is definitely a healthy cultural change and it signifies that moderate people are coming up in our society day by day," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP.

Sprawling Karachi, which gained notoriety in 2002 through the kidnapping and beheading by Al-Qaeda-linked extremists of US reporter Daniel Pearl, was known until the end of the 1970s as a cultural hub.

Bars, nightclubs and musical and poetry events flourished there, while alcohol was sold before it was banned by the government.

However the city descended into near-lawlessness in the 1980s and 1990s under the Islamist dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq, with clashes between rival Islamist sects, ethnic groups and political organisations.

Four years ago it bore the brunt of militant revenge attacks for President General Pervez Musharraf's support of the US-led bombing of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, leading to cancelled sporting events and concerts.

But in 2005 the killings tailed off, although Karachi still suffered a handful of bombings and the torching of a KFC restaurant in which six employees died.

Now Adams is holding a fundraising show for victims of last year's South Asian earthquake, in which 73,000 people died, becoming the first Western pop star to play Pakistan since the start of the "war on terror".

"Musical nights are not infrequent now in the country but this is the first time such a big name has performed here," said Salman Iqbal, president of ARY Digital, a local television channel and organiser of the event.

Officials say tickets to see the singer whose hits include "Summer of '69" have sold well, despite costing 3,500 rupees (58 dollars) -- the average wage of some teachers here.

And there are hopes it will revive Karachi's status as Pakistan's most dynamic and cultural city.

"Karachi was a pulsating city and people used to enjoy music, liquor and poetry like moderate and cultured citizens anywhere in the world. Maybe it can be again," said Aneel Dutta, a nostalgic 50-year Karachi resident.

The new mood in Karachi echoes a gradual opening up in socially conservative Pakistan -- which the government attributes to military ruler Musharraf's policy of 'enlightened moderation', an effort to root out extremism.

"Everybody, whether he wants to offer prayers, listen to Sufi music or enjoy modern music, must be at full liberty," minister Rashid said.

Analysts say one key catalyst for change was the government's 2002 deregulation of electronic media, which unleashed a blitz of new television stations.

"Pakistani youth is widely exposed to international culture now," said Fateh Mohammad Burfat, chairman of Karachi University's sociology department.

Fakhr-e-Alam, a pop singer and television anchor, said the Adams concert would help Pakistanis join the "global vilage" after long feeling isolated.

But some analysts -- not to mention Pakistan's influential Islamist hardline parties -- question whether the Canadian's appearance shows Pakistan becoming too westernized. "Zia ul-Haq pursued Islamic extremism as the West desired in the 1980s when he sponsored the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and now again things are being changed in accordance with their wishes," Burfat said. "This change will not be sustainable if only carry out cosmetic surgery on our society," he added. AFP

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