Pakistani singer Atif Aslam has come under criticisms for singing Indian songs at a Pakistan Independence Day celebration in New York. He sang many Bollywood songs at the event earlier this month that irked many internet users. Atif who has lent his voice for many Bollywood songs was trolled massively on social media. He sang Tera Hone Laga Hoon from the 2009 film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani at the function among other popular songs.

He sang the original along with singers Joi Barua and Alisha China for the movie. Soon people started using 'Boycott Atif Aslam' in their tweets. The incident kickstarted debate between fans and criticisers on Twitter.

Here is a video of the event:

The 35-year-old singer then took to social media saying he loves his haters. In his post, Atif says, "Simply love my haters. Undoubtedly, Allah is the only one who can make someone worthy of respect or not. The Pakistani flag is my identity and my fans know that I respect it a lot. I'm glad that my fans know how to deal with fake propaganda against me."

Here is Atif Aslam's Instagram post:

Classical singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, who has also sung some Indian songs supported Atif. In a tweet, Shafqat said, "I stand in support of Atif Aslam for singing his songs at the parade. Music is not Indian or Pakistani. It’s just music. Singers are synonymous with their songs which are loved equally by fans from every country." Film critic Omair Alavi also defended the singer saying, "Don't Pakistanis go to watch Indian films? Are not Indian dramas a regular on our channels."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 10, 2018 06:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).