Is Junoon headed for a reunion?

Now defunct Junoon band. Photo: File

Heart rates of Junoon fans doubled when Salman Ahmed confirmed earlier today the reunion of the Sufi rock band.

"A reunion tour is being planned to celebrate 25 years of Junoon," Salman Ahmed announced on twitter.

The tweet brought back nostalgic memories of melodious tunes infused with tablas, ragas, and meaningful poetry of Iqbal and Bulleh Shah.

It has been over a decade since Junoon, which pioneered the Sufi-rock genre and inspired a generation with hits such as Sayonee, Pyaar Bina, and, Jazba-e-Junoon, broke up with Ali Azmat, guitarist Ahmed and bassist Brian O'Connell going their separate ways.

I was already playing Balma and searching Bulleya on YouTube when it hit me that the news was too good to be true.

The band started from Lahore in 1990 and was founded by Ahmad. In total, it released multiple albums and performed all over the world.

However, in 2005, the band split as Brian returned to the US, and Azmat and Ahmad went their separate ways launching solo careers.

Azmat had hinted at a reunion last year but nothing was confirmed and the rumours had eventually died down.

Not wanting my celebration to fizzle out, I requested a colleague to confirm the news with Ali Azmat.

The joy was indeed short-lived.

"This news surfaces at least once every month. There is no reunion," was Azmat's brutal, hope-shattering response.

However, the stubborn die-hard Junoon fan in me did not want to come out of the Sufi-rock induced reverie.

The yearning for their reunion was rekindled in August this year when a rendition of Sayonee featuring Ali Noor and the legendary Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, as well as Salman Ahmad as music director, didn't go down well with fans.

The song was performed during the second episode of Coke Studio's Season 10.

After a small struggle, I finally got in touch with Salman Ahmed.

"We are all on board, the original members of Junoon...Brian O'Connell, Ali Azmat and I," Ahmed told Geo.tv.

Responding to a question about Azmat's denial, the guitarist said the former 'probably does not want to share the news with you just yet."

Well, Junoon fans sure have their fingers crossed!