Global music star and ambassador for King Charles' anti-violence charity filmed himself punching a band member and dragging him by his hair during a brutal attack on a US hotel: 'He was my student and I hit him. He has no objections

A global music star who is an ambassador for an anti-violence charity founded by King Charles has been filmed punching and assaulting a band member.

The shocking footage shows Pakistani folk singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – an ambassador for the King's British Asian Trust tackling domestic violence – attacking a backing singer during a US tour.

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

The video, sent to The Mail on Sunday, will send shockwaves across the Indian subcontinent and embarrass the British Asian community and the British Asian Trust, which helps victims of domestic violence and runs mental health initiatives across India and manages Pakistan.

Khan and King Charles at the British Asian Trust's 4th annual dinner at Guildhall in London on February 10, 2017

Khan has performed to packed arenas in Britain and around the world. During a sold-out show at Wembley, he was joined on stage by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who called him 'brother'.

Khan has met the king several times as ambassador to the British Asian Trust. It was founded by Charles in 2007 to tackle poverty and build community relations. Khan's vocals were used in Mel Gibson's 2007 film Apocalypto and he contributed to the soundtrack of the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. He made his Hollywood acting debut in What's Love Got To Do With It?, starring Lily James, in 2022. The film was directed by his friend Jemima Khan, ex-wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Last week, this newspaper received three videos of Khan hitting his bandmate. In a 22-second clip, the casually dressed Khan is seen arguing with the man in a green T-shirt and shouting at him: 'Where's my bottle? I'm going to hit you. Have you seen my bottle?'

The 32-year-old man, whom we will not name, looks scared. A longer 36-second clip showed the man crouching as Khan hit him with what appears to be a slipper. He then punches the man in the face and head and shouts, “Where's my bottle?”

Khan has met the king several times as ambassador to the British Asian Trust. It was founded by Charles in 2007 to tackle poverty and build community relations.

In the clip, Khan is seen arguing with the man in a green T-shirt and shouting at him: 'Where's my bottle? I'm going to hit you. Have you seen my bottle?'

The 32-year-old man, whom we will not name, looks scared. The clip showed the man crouching as Khan hit him with what appears to be a slipper

The victim meekly replies, “I didn't have it, sir. Which bottle?'

Members of Khan's entourage stand watching. However, the third video shows three band members trying to pull Khan away as the men struggle on the ground.

A source familiar with the incident said the argument may have been over a bottle of liquor.

But last night Khan denied this and said his bandmate had lost a bottle of 'spiritual water' given to him by a holy man. He said: 'He was my student and I hit him. He lost my special water bottle, he was responsible for it, he accepted it.

'And he doesn't mind me hitting him. No one objects if I punish my student for losing my spiritual bottle of water. He even asked me for forgiveness.” In Pakistan, the British Asian Trust says it has trained 160 teachers to identify mental health problems in students.

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

British Asian Trust said: 'We take all allegations of abuse seriously and will investigate them urgently.'