PESHAWAR, Oct 22: The US consulate in collaboration with Humayun Khan Production arranged a musical night at a local hotel on Sunday in connection with Daniel Pearl Music Day.

Pashto singers Humayun Khan, Bakhtiar Khattak, Saima Naz and Sitara Yousus performed at the function.

Attendance at the event was average though only a select few were invited.

Singers received a lukewarm response from the audience due to mediocre selection of music and poetry.

Some youngsters tried to add enthusiasm to the dormant crowd by dancing to the tunes of an Afghan song presented by a live orchestra.

Rest of the performance was lip-sync to the disappointment of the audience. Repeated attempts by anchors Bakhtiar Khattak and Meena to cheer up the people failed.

At the start of the musical night, public relations officer at the US consulate Tammy Paltchikon said the event had been organised in the memory of slain journalist Daniel Pearl to honour work done by journalists around the world.

“It is a dangerous profession and a very important one and the reason why Daniel Pearl Day was instituted is because he himself was an able music player and everywhere he went across the world, he got involved with music and musicians,” she said.Ms Paltchikon said music was an important part of the slain journalist’s life and so the US consulate wanted to remember and honour the way he worked.

“And while remembering Daniel Pearl, our thoughts are also with those journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas who have sacrificed their lives for the noble profession of journalism,” she said.

Earlier, Humayun Khan of HK Production said his company had been organising the event in memory of Daniel Pearl for three years to promote peace and harmony.