Bryan Adams rocks for earthquake victims

Canadian pop star Bryan Adams takes the stage in Karachi, Pakistan Sunday to raise money for victims of the earthquake that rocked South Asia in October.

The concert is billed as the first one by a major Western rock star in Pakistan since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S.

“The whole idea of coming to Pakistan is very exciting on many levels,” Adams said at a Sunday news conference in Karachi.  “We’re going to raise a lot of money to hopefully help rebuild some schools in the areas that have been devastated.”

Adams, who shot to fame with songs such as Summer of ’69, Cuts Like a Knife and Everything I Do, arrived in Pakistan Friday.

Concert organizers say they’ve sold 22,000 tickets ranging in price from 3,500 to 5,000 rupees ($67 to $96 Cdn) for the concert taking place at the Arabian Sea Golf Club.

A 7.6-magnitude quake roared through the country’s Kashmir region and surround areas Oct. 8, 2005, obliterating roads, homes and schools and leaving 3.5 million people homeless.

Adams is hoping to raise awareness for Zindagi Trust, an organization established by Pakistani pop star Shehzad Roy, who opens for Adams on Sunday night.

Through the trust, each child is paid about $2 a week to attend one of its 35 schools.  The money provides food and clothing for the child’s family.  The money is an incentive to prevent families from sending their children to work.