Though he was subsequently released, the arrest of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, equally popular on both sides of the border, has shocked thousands of his fans while it is being cited as yet another example of maltreatment meted out to Pakistani citizens in India. According to Indian customs intelligence Rahat was about to board a flight from New Delhi to Pakistan via Dubai when a routine search of his luggage led to the discovery of undeclared foreign currency in violation of Indian customs laws. There are reasons to believe that the money carried by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan came from legitimate sources as he continues to sing since 2004 for the Indian film industry. In the 2011 Star Screen Awards this year, he was ranked as the best male background singer. He has also acted as a judge in popular music contests on Indian TV channels. His local events were being managed by his Indian manager who reportedly handed over the money to Rahat at the airport. It was for the manager to have ensured that the money was properly taxed and other legal requirements fulfilled before the maestro boarded the plane. What is more; there is a common practice in India that in case of a foreigner being involved in a case of the type to deport the offender rather than detain him.
The Bhutan agreement between India and Pakistan early this month was hailed on both sides. The agreement to restart the stalled dialogue was concluded after two years of efforts to reduce the trust deficit by both the official and backdoor channels. The announcement by India to pull 10,000 troops from Kashmir is also being hailed as a positive measure. There is a need to ensure that nothing is allowed to happen that could in any way mar the ambience of the talks.
The incident should be a lesson to those travelling to India from Pakistan. It is their duty to ensure that they strictly observe Indian laws so that there is no recurrence of any unfortunate incident of the sort.
