Rahat Fateh’s video showing him beating student over ‘missing bottle’ goes viral

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s singing maestro Rahat Fateh Ali Khan found himself at the centre of a serious controversy after a short video clip of him violently beating a man, who is said to be his “student”, went viral on social media Saturday night.

The internationally acclaimed singer was seen subjecting the man to brutal physical torture. The gravity of the incident was apparent from the video as Rahat was seen beating the man with slaps, kicks and even his shoes, while the ‘victim’ pleaded with him to stop. Some other men were also seen in some clips from the video, intervening to separate Rahat from the ‘victim’. The highly graphic video made rounds on social media and #RahatFatehAliKhan became a top trend on microblogging site X in Pakistan. The video sent shockwaves through the music industry and on social media as the netizens questioned Rahat’s conduct and raised concerns about ‘substance’ abuse.

Taking the seriousness of the matter into account, Rahat responded to the controversy and issued a clarification that the matter was not as apparent in the video.

Meanwhile, the “student” said that the “bottle” mentioned in the viral video contained the water given by the spiritual leader which he had misplaced. “He is [like] my father, my teacher. God knows how much he loves us. Whoever has done this, is simply blackmailing my teacher to defame him,” he added. “The video is an internal matter of a teacher and a student. We do love a student over a good deed, as well as punish him if he commits a mistake,” the star singer said in a video statement issued via his official Instagram account. “I forgot a bottle of water which was given by my pir (spiritual healer). I also apologised to my student at the same time,” he said referring to the “student” as Naveed Husnain. In a separate video, Husnain said that Rahat had apologised to him for whatever happened between them due to which, he was now “embarrassed”. He further stated that Rahat is his teacher and “can do whatever he wants” with him. The artist, who is the nephew of Qawwali king Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, shared multiple videos on Instagram containing similar clarifications about the matter.