Javed Akhtar Recalls Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Brave Pro-India Remark To Pakistan: 'He Was Courageous'

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Javed Akhtar recalls Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's bold statement to Pakistani officials, praising India's warmth and criticizing Pakistan for ignoring Lata Mangeshkar.
Veteran writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar has once again revisited the long-standing conversation around the cultural exchange between India and Pakistan, while fondly remembering his deep admiration for legendary Pakistani qawwali maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Though Akhtar had earlier drawn applause in India — and criticism across the border — for calling out Pakistan's history of sheltering perpetrators of attacks like 26/11 during an appearance in Lahore, he maintains that his respect for Nusrat remains untarnished. Speaking on AajTak Radio, Akhtar shared a poignant anecdote from a music launch in Delhi that highlighted Nusrat's candour and courage.
'I'm not a huge fan of qawwali as a genre," Akhtar admitted, 'but I was a great admirer of Nusrat. He was a lovely man. We worked together on an album titled Sangam — I wrote it, he composed it." Recalling the event held at a five-star hotel in Delhi, Akhtar described how Nusrat addressed a packed audience, including dignitaries from the Pakistan High Commission seated in the front row.
'Nusrat was asked to say a few words. He said, 'I travel all over the world, but the reception I get in India is unmatched. I hang my head in shame when people ask me why my country hasn't hosted Lata Mangeshkar. I'm saying this here because I want the people from the Pakistan High Commission to pay attention,'" Javed recalled.
Akhtar described the moment as a rare act of bravery. 'It takes conviction, daring, and honesty to make such a statement. For me, as an Indian, it's not a big deal to say this. But for a Pakistani to say this on Indian soil and then return home — that's incredibly courageous," he said, adding, 'I have nothing but love and admiration for Nusrat. He died so young. He was on his way to America to sign a record deal with none other than Madonna. Who knows what more greatness he would have achieved had he lived longer."
Born in 1948, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away in 1997 at the age of just 48. Javed noted that Nusrat was one of the few South Asian artists whose appeal transcended borders, regularly selling out concerts not just among the diaspora, but among Western audiences as well.
After the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year, Akhtar reiterated his stance on the imbalance in cross-border artistic engagement. 'It has been one-way traffic. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Noor Jahan — all came to India and were welcomed with open arms. Faiz Ahmad Faiz, when he visited India during the Vajpayee era, was treated with the respect reserved for a head of state," he said in an interview with PTI.
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