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Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
lobby in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
refers to the professional
lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
s paid directly by the
government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of Pakistani interests and/or on behalf of
Pakistani American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...
rights and interests.


Background

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 General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
, 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). 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 Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While the s ...
status, which Pakistan received in 2004 as well as helping to secure
F-16s The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
, C-130s and military helicopters for Pakistan. 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. 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. The lobbying firm
Janus-Merritt Strategies David Hossein Safavian (born August 4, 1967) 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 Unit ...
led by Iranian-American lawyer
David Safavian David Hossein Safavian (born August 4, 1967) 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 Unit ...
was also registered by the Pakistani government for lobbying. Safavian was subsequently convicted of a Federal felony in the
Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribe ...
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 The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...
, and receiving illegal funding totaling over $4,000,000 from the
Inter Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
agency of the
Pakistani Military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
. 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 A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...
.


See also

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Baloch Council of North America Baloch Council of North America (BCNA) is a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization in the United States that seeks to "unite all Baloch people and secure Baloch rights, including the right of self-determination, within the Pakistani Federa ...
*
Pakistan–United States relations On 15 August 1947, one day after the independence of Pakistan through the partition of British India, the United States became one of the first nations to establish relations with Pakistan. The relations are a very important factor in the United ...


References

{{Pakistan–United States relations Pakistani-American organizations Pakistan–United States relations Lobbying in the United States