Prince Charles makes Rahat Fateh Ali charity’s ambassador

LONDON: Prince Charles has appointed Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ambassador of the British Asian Trust at the trust's fourth annual dinner at the Guildhall here.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who is the President of the trust, made the announcement. More than 450 supporters and ambassadors of the organization, including the Duchess of Cornwall, attended the event and helped raise £850,000 to support the trust and its projects in South Asia. The trust runs many projects in South Asian countries. Rahat Fateh Ali performed before the audience and won praise. The celebrity producer Naughty Boy joined him on stage for performance.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said: "I am delighted that the Prince of Wales announced that I will be working closely with the British Asian Trust as an ambassador to further support their work in transforming lives across South Asia."

Among its many initiatives the trust’s project ‘Give a Girl a Future’ has helped 50,000 women and girls in Pakistan develop their skills.

Other prominent guests who attended the event include tennis played Boris Becker, award-winning film director Gurinder Chadha and TV stars Nitin Ganatra and Preeya Kalidas.

In recent months, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has enhanced his profile steadily at the international level. He has performed at the UN to a coveted audience. He was also recently given award at the Oxford University. Prior to that Rahat was the headline performer at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. He has also been given Lifetime achievement award in London.

The credit for Rahat’s rise at the international stage goes to his producer and management lead Salman Ahmed who has worked hard and highly professionally to ensure that the talented singer makes it to the world stage as per requirements of the latest PR techniques used by the western celebrities.

Since Salman Ahmed took over the management of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the singer has transformation in his image too. Salman Ahmed told The News: "I'm delighted that Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is now an Ambassador of the British Asian Trust. Myself and Hitan Mehta of the British Asian Trust have been working on this for some time and we're looking at the right time. This will enable the maestro to give back to the world as well with the guidance and involvement of the trust. My personal belief in the talent and reach of Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan continued and soon there is another very big news to share as well InshAllah.

Speaking about the rise of Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali at the international stage, Salman Ahmed said: “Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is making huge contribution to the world of arts and live performance. He is a genius and has been gifted with rare talent, spreading the message of love through Qawwali for the sake of love, peace and harmony. He’s carrying forward the legacy of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. They both have given positive image to Pakistan at the global scale. They are true heroes of Pakistan. He spreading the message of live through.”