Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Credit: X/@RFAKWorld
A video of renowned Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is going viral on social media. In the video, the singer can be seen thrashing a man with slippers and asking him about a bottle that had been "misplaced".
In the purported video, Khan can be seen repeatedly hitting and slapping the man with a slipper and asking "Where is my bottle?". He later identified the man as his protege Naveed Hasnain.
The man, who was beaten by the singer, later in a video clarified that he had misplaced a bottle of 'dam kiya hua pani' or holy water.
Khan's name started trending on X hours after the minute-long clip went viral, with many users calling out the singer for his behaviour. It couldn't be ascertained when and where the said video was filmed.
After the video went viral on social media platforms, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan released a video on his Instagram account apologising for his act.
Standing alongside the man he had beaten and his father in the video, Khan gave clarification for what had happened.
Khan said that the matter was between "ustad and his Shagird (protege)" and that he later apologised to his student.
"When a protege does a good job, we shower a lot love of them and when they make a mistake, we punish them as well... I had apologised to him at the same time..." the singer said in the video.
Calling Khan his 'ustad' (teacher), the man said that the video was intended to defame the singer.
"Ustad ji came and apologosed to me. He is my father, my ustad and there is nothing wrong in a father punishing his son," the man said.
The student's father also clarified in the video that there was nothing wrong in a master punishing his student.
Alongside them was Khan's driver too who, Khan said, had been working for him for the past 40 years. In the video, Khan asks him to explain if he has ever scolded or beaten him. "He respects me a lot, his whole family respects me a lot. He has never even scolded me," the driver said.
As soon as the apology video was shared, many commented saying, "Violence cannot be justified".
(With PTI inputs)