ISLAMABAD: Months after Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan said his government was brought down by the administration in Washington, the American chapter of his party has hired a public relations firm to improve its image in the United States through information distribution and media management.
Khan was driven out of power in a no-confidence vote in April after he lost his parliamentary majority. However, he told his workers and supporters he was “punished” for pursuing an independent foreign policy which was not liked by the US.
He also maintained the “international conspiracy” against him had succeeded since it was carried out with the help of “local abettors,” though his allegations were later denied by US and Pakistani officials repeatedly.
According to the agreement, a copy of which is available on the Internet, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) US chapter has engaged Fenton/Arlook LLC for six months from August 1 on a monthly retainer fee of $25,000 to arrange media briefings and help the party with placement of articles and broadcasts.
“Fenton/Arlook shall provide public relations services, including but not limited to distributing information to and briefing journalists, placing articles and broadcasts, arranging interviews with representatives or supporters of PTI, advising on social media efforts and other such public relations services,” the agreement said.
The US firm noted its client did not include the PTI party registered in Pakistan.
“This is an agreement between a PR firm, not a lobbyist, and a group of US citizens,” Sajjad Burki, Khan’s focal person for the US, told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. “We are not lobbying for PTI Pakistan, and certainly not within the US administration.”
The former prime minister’s political rivals sharply reacted to the development, saying he had many faces.
Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal accused Khan of “begging [the] USA” after telling his followers that his government was toppled on Washington’s behest.
However, former information minister and Khan’s close aide, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, tweeted that Fenton was not a lobbying firm but a media relations firm, adding that it was hired by the PTI USA “to put its point across in the media.”
“The function of these companies is to build relations between the media and the party,” he added.
