Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Controversy Viral Video, Apology, and Fallout Explained

For the unversed, renowned musician Rahat Fateh Ali Khan landed in hot waters over the weekend when a video of him, thrashing one of his students Naveed Husnain while inquiring about a ‘bottle’, supposedly of ‘dam wala paani’, went viral on social media.

The few-second-long clip spread like wildfire on social media and in response to the controversy, Khan released another video with his student, offering an explanation of the scene in the viral video.

In the consequences of the clip, which sparked a meme fest on social media, King Charles’ British Asian Trust severed ties with the Qawwali singer, denouncing his ‘abusive behavior and violence’. At the same time, Khan also faced an investigation from FIA due to allegations of money laundering and tax evasion.

Days after the video surfaced on social media, Khan addressed the scandal in the latest podcast with YouTuber Adeel Asif and discussed the ‘bottle’. Speaking about the reactions on social media, the veteran said, “People are making fun of it but the truth is that the water was given by Pir Murshid (spiritual leader), which he [Husnain] had.”

He added, “People are not trying to understand the intensity of the situation, it is a spiritual matter between Pir Saab and me, which is a big deal for me.

In a separate video message, posted on his official social media handles, Khan apologized to his fans and fraternity, warning about more ‘planted’ videos that may leak in the coming days.

“I want to apologize. The mistake I have made firstly, I seek forgiveness from my God may God forgive me, Who had made all humans the same. Being a human, I should not have behaved in such a way with another human. And being an artist, I definitely shouldn’t have,” he said, adding that the incident took place almost nine months before the video emerged on social media.

I apologize to all those people, for my behavior. I want to apologize to the singing community, my co-artists, my female co-artists, and the music directors who have made music for me, I apologize to them as well.

Zartash Imran