Pakistan has been declared the winner of the inaugural talent show Sur Kshetra.
The programme broadcast its final episode on Saturday night on the network Colours; an arena spectacular filmed at the Dubai World Trade Centre on December 22.
The show had the bitter rivals India and Pakistan, led by the star coaches Himesh Reshammiya and Atif Aslam respectively, battling it out to see which country has the best unsigned artists.
The event began with the remaining two contestants from each country facing each other before one person emerged to represent their nation in the final round.
In a round dedicated to ballads, Lahore's Nabil Ali went on to represent Pakistan in the final after edging out Rawalpindi's Muzalim Husain. Team India was represented by Dilijan in the final. The Jalandhar singer, who announced his arrival earlier in the series with a show-stopping performance of Jagjit Singh's Chithi Na Koi Sandesh, easily dispatched Delhi's Yashraj Kapil in the semis.
It was Ali who convincingly defeated Dilijan in the final, with a multi-song medley mixing traditional with Bollywood and rock.
When the judging panel - including Pakistan's Abida Parveen, India's Asha Bhosle and Bangladesh's Runa Laila - announced the final result, team Pakistan wasted no time in bringing out the flags and inciting the crowd to shout patriotic slogans.
"It didn't matter," said the Indian supporter and Dubai resident Sapna Chandwan. "It was a great event with good performances."
The Pakistani Fauzia Zamman was ecstatic. "I agree that it was a good night," the Dubai resident said. "But it got even better with us winning."
