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Rapper Talha Anjum — who ignited a social media storm this past weekend after waving and draping himself in the Indian flag during a performance in Nepal — issued an apology to his Pakistani fans on Thursday.

Appearing on the 365 News morning show Rise and Shine, hosted by Nadia Khan and Zohaib Hassan, Anjum was questioned about the viral clip in which an audience member handed him an Indian flag mid-performance. The Young Stunners rapper was seen first waving it and then placing it over his shoulders — a moment that immediately ignited backlash online.

Explaining what happened on stage, Anjum said the situation felt entirely different in real-time. The moment unfolded during his performance of ‘Kaun Talha’, a diss track aimed at Indian rapper Naezy, and he interpreted the gesture as a sign of support from Indian fans in the crowd.

“I was performing ‘Kaun Talha’ when an Indian guy handed me an Indian flag,” he said. “In the heat of the moment, I took it. It was handed to me in a respectful way.” He said he perceived it as the crowd telling him they were present “in attendance,” supporting him despite the song’s target.

When host Nadia Khan pointed out that he could have simply placed the flag to the side, Anjum admitted he did not realise how long he held it. “In the heat of the moment, I did not realise for how many seconds I was standing with the flag.”

His apology comes after several days of heated online debate — especially since, right after the performance, the ‘Gumaan’ singer initially doubled down, saying he would “do it again”.

“My heart has no place for hate. My art has no borders,” he wrote on X at the time. “If me raising an Indian flag sparks controversy, so be it. I’ll do it again… will never care about the media, the war-mongering governments and their propagandas. Urdu rap is and will always be borderless.”

On the show, however, when co-host Zohaib Hassan asked whether the apology could be taken as “unconditional, with no ifs and buts”, Anjum responded with a clear yes.

“To everybody whose heart has been hurt by any of my actions, I would like to apologise,” he said. “If you are not there, then I am not there. I am all because of Pakistan. Everywhere I go, they call me the finest Pakistani rapper or the biggest Pakistani rapper.”

Under ordinary circumstances, this might have passed as a feel-good moment of cross-border love, but nothing about the current Pakistan–India climate is ordinary. Since the May conflict, cultural exchange between the two countries has been closed off more than ever. Indian platforms have pulled Pakistani music, social media accounts of Pakistani celebrities and creators have been blocked, and fans in India now rely on VPNs just to stream content they once accessed freely.

Even cricket, the one thing that occasionally softens the border, has felt the strain. Remember when Indian players wouldn’t shake hands with Pakistani cricketers? The absurdity of it all was widely criticised. So when a Pakistani rapper waved an Indian flag on stage, it wasn’t appreciated by most people who saw it.