Junoon denies split reports Pakistani pop group Junoon has denied reports that it was on the verge of a split following serious differences among its members. Salman Ahmed, Junoon's leading guitarist, was quoted as saying in Gulf News that there was not an iota of truth in the news reports which were "malicious in nature." Besides Salman Ahmed, the group has two members, namely Ali Azmat, the lead singer, and Brian O'Connel, the bass guitarist. It was formed in 1990. The news reports had stated that Azmat was secretly pursuing a solo career and looking for musicians to form his own band. Ahmed said, "the report implied that the group was going to split because we could not work together. When I heard about the article, I was in the studio working with Ali on our forthcoming album." He said, "I asked Ali if he knew something that I did not know and he also told me he had no idea. You don't print rubbish without verifying facts." He went on to say that "the other allegation was that our song for the film Jinnah was not doing well. It is currently number one on Pakistan television's viewers choice charts." Ahmed said the group had just returned from Denmark where it received a great response. "We are trying to create music that maintains our ethnicity and yet appeals to a wider audience." The group, he said, was leaving for the United States on an eight-city tour lasting some two weeks. "So in no way is our popularity declining." Junoon would be performing in Dubai in October. The news reports had stated that Junoon received its first setback when the Nawaz Sharif government formulated a policy according to which singers wearing jeans or sporting long hair could not appear on television. The second setback was more serious when the government banned Junoon from appearing on the national media following an interview to an Indian channel over a "forked" statement by Azmat that Pakistan and India "should be one." That statement had been made on the eve of the 1998 nuclear tests by the two countries. Sources said this statement was the first step to the differences in the group which subsequently gathered momentum. Insiders were quoted as saying that Ahmed blamed Azmat for the statement, terming him as "emotional and impulsive." A letter was thereafter sent by the Pakistani Ministry of culture asking Junoon to explain its statement to the Indian channel, following which a ban was slapped on the group. Another factor that lends credence to a possible split in the offing is that the group's popularity in on the decline, the news reports had stated.(UNI)