New Delhi:
A day after Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was detained at the Delhi airport, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has written to the Ministry of External Affairs asking for consular access to Khan.
This came after Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir spoke with the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad and asked that the singer's protective custody be ended immediately.
Khan, the nephew of legendary singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, was detained on Sunday night with undeclared currency worth US $ 124,000, or close to Rs 60 lakh. He was flying out to Dubai when he was intercepted by personnel from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). His manager Chitresh Srivastava was also detained.
"The DRI officers found altogether $ 1, 24,000 which is equivalent to about Rs. 60 lakh. $ 24,000 were found from the baggage carried by Rahat while the remaining $ 50,000 each were found from the baggage of two troupe members," Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman S Dutt Majumdar said.
The government is now investigating the source of the money that the singer was carrying.
Meanwhile, concerned over Khan's arrest, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has asked the High Commission in Delhi to keep a close eye on proceedings. Three embassy officials are at the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in Delhi, where the singer is being questioned.
Pakistani officials have asked India to keep them informed about the developments in the case.