Rahat Fateh Ali Khan thanks Indians

Mumbai: Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan says that he is thankful to India for providing a platform to budding artistes from his country, as their talent goes unrecognized back home. The singer is one of the judges in the music-based reality show `Chotte Ustaad 2`, which will see participants from the neighboring country competing with their Indian counterparts.

"The situation in Pakistan is not good...the country is facing problem of terrorism and so we cannot provide a platform to budding talent here. We are thankful to India and the makers of this show (Chotte Ustad 2) for roping in children from Pakistan," Khan told. "Once the situation normalizes in Pakistan we will surely create a platform there for the young talented singers. And we would try to bring in Indian talent," he said. `Chhote Ustaad 2` will feature 10 children from India and 10 from Pakistan. Each Pakistani child will be paired with an Indian child, and the 10 pairs will compete with each other for the title. Khan, who has has chartbusters like `Mann Ki Lagan` (Paap), `Jiya Dhadak Dhadak` (Kalyug), `Teri Ore` (Singh is Kinng) and `Ajj Din Chadheya` (Love Aaj Kal) to his credit,said films and cricket were the two mediums to bring India and Pakistan together. "Both countries share common passions, love for films and cricket. Through this we must try to bring the neighbours together. I have always tried to advocate peace on both sides of the border through my singing and will continue to do so," he said. The singer who is the nephew of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, said yes to `Chhote Ustaad 2` because of its novel concept. "I liked the concept of the show. It encourages brotherhood between India and Pakistan. It is a very good step and hence I wanted to support it," he said. PTI