Rahat Fateh Khan in Hot Water over Violent Video

Pakistani vocalist sensation Ratah Fateh Ali Khan has found himself in the news for the wrong reasons. It is not his seasoned and compelling voice that has gained attention lately, but apparently his wayward hand. Yes, a controversial video that has been circulating vigorously on the internet reveals him allegedly slapping a young man. Ratah – who is the nephew of the late and great singer Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan - is known for his breathtaking renditions in the Qawwali, Gazal, Sufi and Filmi genres. But now, he is having to use his voice in defence of the unsavoury accusation.  

“Whatever you have seen in these videos is about an internal matter between an ustaad (master) and a shagrid (pupil),” the renowned singer was heard saying in a video. “When a protégé does a good job, we shower a lot (of praise) on them and when they make a mistake we punish them as well. I had apologised to him at the same time”, added Rahat. 

In another subsequent video doing the rounds, Ratah claimed that he is the victim of scandal-mongering by not only the leaking of the incident, but by false claims from X (formerly Twitter) users. Yes, there has been a deluge of allegations on the social media platform that the lashing was over a misplaced bottle of alcohol. This ignominy has coerced the recipient of the supposed thrashing - Hasnain - to stand up for his ustaad and clear the air.  

“I had forgotten where I kept that bottle which had Pir Sahab ka dum ka pani”, confirmed Hasnain, implying that the container held holy water. “God knows our ustaad loves us a lot too. Whoever has recorded the video is a blackmailer. This person is trying to defame my ustaad ji,” the young man added. In a further statement to clear his teacher of any wrongdoing, Hasnain said that his family and Khan shared a profound relationship traversing 4 decades. The lad concluded his testimony with the unlikely claim that the viral clip was a “lie”.