“I beat him because he was my student. He has no objections.”

• Pakistani folk singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan filmed attacking backup singer
• He is an ambassador for the UK Asia Trust to Combat Domestic Violence.

The global music star, who is an ambassador for an anti-violence charity founded by King Charles, was filmed slapping and assaulting band members.

Shocking footage shows Pakistani folk singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, an ambassador for the King’s British Asia Trust fighting domestic violence, attacking a backing singer on a US tour. There is.

Khan, 49, who has eight million followers on social media, beat a man with a slipper and dragged him around by his hair during the brutal attack at a hotel in Houston, Texas, last year. Last night he admitted the assault, saying: “He is my student and I hit him.” He has no objections. ”

The video, sent to the Mail on Sunday, shocked the Asian community in the Indian subcontinent and the UK, which supports domestic violence survivors and mental health initiatives across India and Pakistan. It will embarrass the British Asia Trust.

Khan has performed to packed arenas in the UK and around the world. At the sold-out show at Wembley, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also took to the stage and called him “brother”.

Mr Khan has met with the King several times as an ambassador for the UK Asia Trust. It was founded by Charles in 2007 to tackle poverty and build community relationships. Khan’s vocals were used in Mel Gibson’s 2007 film Apocalypto, and he also contributed to the soundtrack for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. In 2022, he made his Hollywood acting debut in “What Will I Do With Love?” starring Lily James. The film was directed by Jemima Khan, his friend and ex-wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Last week, this newspaper was sent three videos of Khan punching his bandmates. One 22-second video shows a casually dressed Mr Khan arguing with a man in a green T-shirt, shouting: “Where’s my bottle?” I’ll punch you. Have you seen my bottle?

The 32-year-old man, who will not be named, appears to be scared. The 36-second long video shows the man crouching as Mr Khan hits him with what appears to be a slipper. He then punched the man in the face and head, yelling: “Where’s my bottle?”

The victim answered meekly: “I didn’t have it.” Which bottle?

Mr. Khan’s entourage stands and watches. However, a third video shows three bandmates trying to separate Khan as the men grapple on the floor.

A person familiar with the incident said the altercation may have been over a bottle of alcohol.

But last night Khan denied this and said his bandmates had lost a bottle of “spiritual water” given to them by a saint. He said, “I hit him because he was my student.” He lost my special water bottle, but he was responsible and accepted it.

“And he has no qualms about me hitting him. Even if I punish my student just because he lost his bottle of my spiritual water, who knows? He even asked me for forgiveness.” In Pakistan, the British Asia Trust announced it had trained 160 teachers to spot mental health problems in students.

Khan is considered the greatest living singer of Pakistan’s famous musical genre called qawwali, which has its origins in the poetry and music of Islamic mystics known as Sufis.

The British Asian Trust said it “takes all allegations of abuse seriously and will investigate them immediately.”