The new lobbying push comes as US-Pakistani relations face a host of challenges.
A Pakistani politician from Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s ruling Tahreek-e-Insaf party has hired a longtime Kashmiri rights advocate as the country looks to the new Joe Biden administration to put pressure on its rival India.
Bilal Ahmed Ghaffar, a member of the provincial assembly of Sindh, has signed two year-long contracts worth a total of $7,000 a month with Chinar Consulting and Kashmir Action Network. Both firms were founded last October by Washington-based activist Carin Jodha Fischer.
The Chinar contract calls on Fischer to conduct government, media and public relations involving “working on coalition funding, counterterrorism, foreign policy, and political forecasting initiatives.” Kashmir Action Network’s role meanwhile will focus on “grassroots lobbying to raise awareness about the complete absence of civil and democratic rights, the shrinking political rights, and the absolute crushing of the will and determination of the Kashmiri people.”
Fischer is a German-American activist who lived in Kashmir for 10 years, according to her Twitter account. She runs a blog that discusses issues in the region and is a habitual presence at events denouncing Indian policies in the region.
Both accounts call on Fischer to liaise with the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. She did not respond to a request for comment.