Singer Mika Singh has issued an apology for hurting the sentiments of Indians by performing in Pakistan, shortly after the Indian government announced its decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution – which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir – which caused rising tensions between the two countries. The singer’s actions led the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) to boycott all organisations that chose to work with him and ban him from performing in India.
On Sunday, 18 August, in a letter addressed to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), Mika requested the association to wait until he had had a chance to explain himself before deciding to ban him.
“I being a part of the above mentioned association myself I would request everyone and the association to wait for my official press conference which I will conduct with taking the association in confidence and prove that what I have done was not intended to hurt any of my fellow Indians. I humbly request not to take any action against me till I do my clarification and if I have hurt any of my fellow Indians knowingly or unknowingly I humbly apologise to the whole country,” he wrote.
The President of FWICE, BN Tiwari, acknowledged Mika’s letter and stated in a video that the committee has decide to heed his request and hold off on their decision to ban him until their meeting on Tuesday, 20 August.
According to reports, on 8 August, Mika Singh performed at the wedding of the daughter of a billionaire who is said to be close to former Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf. Daily Jang claimed the groom was a big fan of Mika and his in-laws used their connections to procure high-level security clearance and visas for the singer and his band.
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