Rahat Fateh Ali Khan issues apology, warns more 'planted' videos may leak

Singer also stated that he respected all those boycotting him

Renowned musician Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has expressed a sincere apology, joining his hands as he seeks forgiveness. In a heartfelt three-minute video shared on his social media platforms, the singer directly addresses his audience.

"I'm recording a very special message for you all today," began the singer. Putting his hands together, he continued, "I want to apologise. 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 continued, "My family, that has been associated with the art of Qawwali for 600 years, our message of love, peace, brotherhood, - I want to apologise to my family, family friends, friends, and especially my fans, who have been immensely hurt by my behaviour. Before that, I seek forgiveness from my God, and this mistake will never happen again."

The singer furthered on, "The video is from nine years ago, and I don't know how long this lot has been making my videos without my consent. The videos that are to come - I already know. When we held our press conference, these things started happening right after. Why not before? If you're such a beacon of humanity, why not release these earlier? I take this positively as well. Because of their actions, I realised my fault."

Khan added, "I wholeheartedly respect those who have boycotted me - to guide me, because they love me - the basic line is love. They don't want to see their artist like this. I apologise to all those people. However any videos there are - you see, they will do this again - I'm giving you today's date, do seek out the forensic report - all the videos are planted, some are fabricated, and they have made these themselves in an attempt to humiliate and defame. It is a failed effort."

Reaching the end of his message, Khan said, "I will InshAllah keep singing. I just want to apologise for my behaviour. I want to apologise to the singing community, my co-artists, my female co-artists. The music directors who have made music for me, I apologise to them as well."

In an earlier podcast with Adeel Asif, Khan shared, “I apologised to him immediately. After I apologised, he started crying saying ‘Ustad ji why are you doing this (apologising)?” He added, "I have paid for his (Naveed's) father’s heart treatment, his daughter’s operation. Even the weddings in his family...I have helped him."

Khan emphasised once again that the misplaced bottle held "holy water" with profound spiritual significance. He expressed frustration that people may not fully grasp the depth of this emotion, underscoring the significant value it held for him. According to him, the situation was a meaningful and spiritual matter that carried great importance. “It is the truth that the bottle had holy water. People are not understanding the depth of that emotion. It is a spiritual thing for me. It was a big deal for me,” he said.

Shedding light on his childhood, Khan added, "My father (Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan) used to beat me a lot. He was like Hitler. If he ever got to know about some mistake that I have made, he would just hit me with a stone. If someone did not save me, then I would have just gotten hit with a big stone.”

In response to a question about whether he experienced being physically reprimanded as a student, Khan revealed that he had encountered similar situations, refraining from disclosing the name of his ustad (teacher) in this context. Khan, a student of the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, described the qawwali singer as exceptionally strict. “Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was very strict. He used to just give a look and the person would know that they are in for some bad news. I have never seen anyone as strict as him when it comes to music,” he said.

Have something to add? Share it in the comments