The Pakistan lobby in the United States are the professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Pakistan to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of Pakistani interests and/or on behalf of Pakistani American rights and interests. [1]
Stephen Payne is believed to be the preeminent paid lobbyist for the government of Pakistan in the U.S. According to former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Payne played a pivotal role in U.S.-Pakistan relations, serving as Pakistan's lobbyist through a group called Team Eagle (also known as Team Barakat). [2] Payne worked as a lobbyist for Pakistan to deliver a multibillion-dollar U.S. aid package and to remove U.S. economic and military sanctions against Pakistan that had been in place for several years. He also helped Pakistan secure Major non-NATO ally status, which Pakistan received in 2004 as well as helping to secure F-16s, C-130s and military helicopters for Pakistan. [2]
Pakistan has paid lobbyists to obtain “Reconstruction Opportunity Zones,” industrial development zones with the privilege of exporting goods manufactured in Pakistan duty-free to the United States and to maintain high levels of U.S. foreign aid. [3]
Pakistan has sought to furthen its foreign policy interests in the United States through lobbying. In one particular incident in March 1997, the member of the House of Representatives from Indiana Dan Burton was accused of demanding a $5,000 contribution from a Pakistani lobbyist. The lobbyist said that when he was unable to raise the funds, Burton complained to the Pakistani ambassador and threatened to make sure "none of his friends or colleagues" would meet with the lobbyist or his associates. [4]
The lobbying firm Janus-Merritt Strategies led by Iranian-American lawyer David Safavian was also registered by the Pakistani government for lobbying. Safavian was subsequently convicted of a Federal felony in the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal and served a one-year sentence in Federal prison.
In 2011, the FBI arrested Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a U.S. citizen of Kashmiri origin, on charges of secretly lobbying for the Government of Pakistan seeking to influence decisions made in the US regarding the Kashmir conflict, and receiving illegal funding totaling over $4,000,000 from the Inter Services Intelligence agency of the Pakistani Military. Fai's passport has been surrendered to the Court and he is currently under house arrest, with strict security conditions including electronic monitoring via an ankle bracelet. Media reports have revealed that Fai has reportedly confessed, under interrogation, to the charges. He faces a sentence of up to 5 years for this Federal felony. Until 2007, Cassidy & Associates lobbied for Pakistan. [5]
From 2008 to 2013, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Pakistan engaged Locke Lord Strategies, the lobbying division of Locke Lord law firm, at a monthly rate of $75,000 to represent Pakistan's interests in the United States. [5] The contract involved Mark Siegel, a partner at Locke Lord and personal friend of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. [6]
Locke Lord was tasked with advocating for Pakistan on Capitol Hill and engaging with the U.S. media, though reports indicated limited effectiveness in these areas. According to U.S. Justice Department records, the firm earned approximately $4.5 million for its services. [5] Prior to the contract, Siegel had lobbied pro bono for an international investigation into Bhutto's assassination and served as a paid lobbyist for the PPP between 1986–1988 and after 2008. [6]
In July 2019, the Government of Pakistan contracted Holland & Knight for public policy strategy services. Tom Reynolds, a former congressman and senior policy advisor at the firm, led the development of this strategy under a one-year contract valued at $1.1 million. [7]
In 2023, in response to the crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistani-American advocacy groups were mobilizing members of the US Congress to issue statements against human rights abuses in Pakistan, further estranged the bilateral relationship. [8] In October 2024, the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, a state-funded think tank, engaged Team Eagle Consulting for lobbying services. [9] Led by Stephen Payne, the firm was hired to counter the growing influence of Imran Khan lobby in the U.S. [9] Team Eagle Consulting receives $1.5 million annually, equivalent to $125,000 per month, for its services. [9]
Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and stateswoman who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman elected to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country. Ideologically a liberal and a secularist, she chaired or co-chaired the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her assassination in 2007.
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pakistan, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures. Each term has ended in his ousting.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a Pakistani barrister, politician, and statesman. He served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth prime minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. Bhutto founded the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution for murder.
The Pakistan People's Party is a centre-left political party in Pakistan, currently being the largest in the Senate and second-largest party in the National Assembly. The party was founded in 1967 in Lahore, when a number of prominent left-wing politicians in the country joined hands against the rule of Ayub Khan, under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It is affiliated with the Socialist International. The PPP's platform was formerly socialist, and its stated priorities continue to include transforming Pakistan into a social-democratic state, promoting egalitarian values, establishing social justice, and maintaining a strong military. It, alongside the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, is one of the three largest political parties of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N) or PML-N; Urdu: پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن)) is a centre-right, conservative liberal political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate and the largest in the National Assembly. The party was founded in 1993, when a number of prominent conservative politicians in the country joined hands after the dissolution of Islamic Democratic Alliance, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The party's platform is generally conservative, which involves supporting free markets, deregulation, lower taxes and private ownership. Although the party historically supported social conservatism, in recent years, the party's political ideology and platform has become more liberal on social and cultural issues; however, members have been accused of using Islamist populist rhetoric. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), it is one of the three major political parties of the country.
David Safavian is an American former lawyer who worked as a congressional aide, lobbyist, and later as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration. A Republican, he served as Chief of Staff of the United States General Services Administration (GSA). He is a figure in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, having worked with the lobbyist on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw account. After serving with Abramoff as a lobbyist, in 1997 Safavian co-founded lobbying firm Janus-Merritt Strategies with Republican activist Grover Norquist.
Husain Haqqani is a Pakistani journalist, academic, political activist, and former ambassador of Pakistan to Sri Lanka and the United States.
Pakistan and the United States established relations on 15 August 1947, a day after the independence of Pakistan, when the United States became one of the first nations to recognize the country.
Tehreek-e-Istiqlal was a political party in Pakistan. It was once the second most popular political party in Pakistan. It was formed by Air Marshal Retd. Asghar Khan in 1970.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is a Pakistani politician who served as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office from 27 April 2022 to 10 August 2023. He became the chairman of Pakistan People's Party in 2007 following his mother's assassination. Bilawal belongs to the Bhutto family, a prominent political family of Pakistan and is the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari, and the grandson of former President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bilawal was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 13 August 2018 till 10 August 2023. He was re-elected as a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 2024 Pakistani general election from newly formed constituency NA-194 Larkana-I, taking oath in February 2024.
Events from the year 2007 in Pakistan.
Operation Clean-up, also known as Operation Blue Fox, was an armed military intelligence program led by the Sindh Police and Pakistan Rangers, with an additional assistance from the Pakistan Army and its related intelligence agencies. Planned by the FIA, Intelligence Bureau and launched the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1992, the program was more strictly pursued by upcoming Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1993–1994, as part of her internal policies.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai is an American citizen of Kashmiri origin, and a Jamaat-e-Islami activist. He founded the organisation Kashmiri American Council in the United States and carried out lobbying on behalf of Kashmiri separatist groups and the Government of Pakistan. In 2011, the US government stated that this was a front group for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Zaheer Ahmad was a Pakistani American medical doctor who was credited as being the founder and chief executive of the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad. In 2011, he came under media attention when the United States accused him of being an associate of Dr. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a lobbyist from Kashmir and founder of the Kashmir American Council (KAC) who was charged for covertly attempting to lobby and influence the American government on the Kashmir conflict on behalf of the Government of Pakistan's interests.
Shafqat Mahmood is a Pakistani bureaucrat-turned-politician who served as the Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, and Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage, from 20 August 2018 to 3 April 2022. Before going into politics, he served as a grade 20 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service.
General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the 14th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) led by Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by President Asif Ali Zardari and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan. Prior to the elections, the ruling PPP formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and Awami National Party, while the main opposition party, the PML-N allied with the Pakistan Muslim League (F) and Baloch parties. The PTI led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, also emerged as a key-player.
The Karachi affair, otherwise known as Agosta Submarine scandal, was a major military scandal that took place in the second administration of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, involving the presidencies of François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac in 1992–97.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement was a coalition of political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a opposition movement against Imran Khan, accusing his administration of poor governance, political victimization of opponents, and mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. Khan rebuked these allegations, during and after his tenure as Prime Minister
In April 2022, a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan led to his removal as the prime minister of Pakistan. Based largely on the Westminster system of legislature, the prime minister commands confidence of the majority of the lower house of Parliament, the National Assembly of Pakistan, under clause (2A) of Article 91 of the Constitution. Numerous opposition parties joined forces to file the motion of no confidence against Imran Khan in the National Assembly. It ultimately led to the removal of Khan from office as a majority passed the motion in the Lower House.
The 2022 Azadi March I was a protest march initiated by the ousted former Pakistani prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman Imran Khan against the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. On 24 May 2022, Khan announced a long march towards Islamabad starting on 25 May 2022. Khan lead the march from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his provincial government helped him. Senior PTI members lead the march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
