Staff at Pakistani websites accustomed to rebranding international coverage of the motherland as a genuine news genre were a little surprised to see their Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, splashed all over the place. The United States today on December 22. The American tabloid is known for its four-color infographics and weather reports, without necessarily knowing where Pakistan is located on the map.
The 16-page special report on Pakistan titled “Pakistan Rises on New Foundations” in house style capitalization ChatGPT featured Muhammad Aurangzeb expounding on macroeconomic stabilization, policy continuity and export-led growth. And while he stressed that Pakistan would not progress without the economic inclusion of women who make up half the population, the special report featured only one of them, among 15 Pakistani men. However, it is not too difficult to spot. See the quarter page ad for basmati rice on page 13.
Instead of a byline, you’d find One World Media accompanied by an 80% gray text disclaimer saying, “This story is paid for by an advertiser. Members of the USA Today Network editorial and news team were not involved in the creation of this content.” Turns out, One World Media is a creative agency that specializes in “elevating your content to the global stage.” Its thought leadership includes people whose names are taken from a novel by Danielle Steel (Fleur Coleman and Michael Joseph) from the date: Cayman Islands.
However, if you want to read the full sixteen pages, you will need to leave the USA Today site and access a PDF file nested on the OWM site.
But none of this is a secret. Pakistan’s image is shaped by a mix of lobbying firms, politically aligned diaspora networks, and American institutions that amplify frames aligned with their own interests. Both the Pakistani government and its opposition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, want media coverage.
For the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-Pakistan People’s Party coalition government, as well as the military leadership, the emphasis is on stability, strategic relevance and a reset of Pakistan-US relations, particularly after May’s India-Pakistan conflict.
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The India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025 was a four-day military confrontation involving missile strikes, armed drones, air operations and heavy fighting on both sides. India carried out stand-off attacks inside Pakistan, while Pakistan responded with air defense, missile and drone operations. The crisis ended after a U.S.-led diplomatic intervention exposed risks of escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and marked a shift toward multi-domain warfare in South Asia.
On the other hand, the PTI highlighted the incarceration of its founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as well as alleged human rights violations.
These two major currents clash on the Hill. “The first is the official effort led by the Pakistani government to build stronger bilateral ties with the United States,” said Uzair Younus, a foreign and economic policy analyst.
“This flow is driven by the embassy and other official channels, including through government-hired lobbyists, whose data is publicly available. The second is driven by PTI-aligned diaspora groups who have been engaging US lawmakers and officials since Imran Khan’s ouster.”
The PTI-led movement focuses on highlighting authoritarianism and democratic backsliding and seeks international pressure, including calls for US intervention to secure the release of Imran Khan. “This commitment has not fundamentally changed American policy,” Younus added, however. “But it got media attention, which in many ways is precisely the goal.”
Symbolic winnings can be listed. Forty-four Democratic lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month demanding targeted sanctions against Pakistani officials over what they described as an escalation of transnational repression and rights abuses. The same week, the military responded publicly. Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused Imran of promoting anti-army discourse threatening national security. “Freedom of expression cannot be used to undermine the security or defense of Pakistan,” he said, alleging that Khan’s claims were being amplified by foreign actors.
Pakistani news headlines laden with superlatives (“great” and “favorite”) were the surest proof that the money had been well spent. “This has been a year of reassessment and reset,” said former foreign minister and Pakistani ambassador to the United States Jauhar Saleem. The Express PK Press Club. “The United States has reassessed Pakistan’s defense potential, its role as an internet security provider, and its broader economic and strategic relevance. »
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International scrutiny intensified in the second week when the UN special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, warned that Khan’s conditions of detention could amount to torture or inhumane treatment. At that time, Imran Khan had spent more than two and a half years in Adiala jail for several cases. Midway through the month, the campaign took a personal turn. His son Kasim Khan said News from the sky that he and his brother were planning to travel to Pakistan, claiming their father was being held in a “death cell.”
Days later, Kasim and Suleiman repeated similar claims in interviews with Mehdi Hasan and Mario Nawfal, while The times And Sunday time quoted them calling the treatment of their father barbaric.
“He is in a death cell. What they are doing to my father is barbaric. They want to limit any kind of social interaction to break him mentally. It is because he is so popular that they are doing all these things to him. They are afraid of him.” – Imran Khan’s sons @Kasim_Khan_1999 And… pic.twitter.com/K0bsGGWAAX
– PTI (@PTIofficial) December 21, 2025
PTI-aligned voices have worked hard to amplify delays in court proceedings, alleging that repeated postponements continue to restrict access for family members and lawyers. “Diaspora networks are active but polarized,” Rumi said. “PTI-aligned groups are more vocal online while government-aligned actors work through formal channels. The impact remains largely symbolic.”
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“On October 16, the judge told our lawyer that I will announce the judgment on Monday.
Next thing we know, the date he gave was three or four weeks away. It continued… pic.twitter.com/mIbNFdxqxP
– Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 28, 2025
All this cost a pretty penny. “The December surge reflects coordinated agenda-setting, with opinion pieces, congressional letters and briefings clustered around political hotspots and human rights reporting cycles,” said Raza Rumi, a political analyst and journalist. The Express PK Press Club.
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According to documents filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and released by the U.S. Department of Justice, public disclosures show that Pakistan-related entities committed at least $3 million to fixed lobbying and public affairs contracts during 2024 and 2025. FARA requires anyone lobbying or performing public relations for a foreign government or entity to disclose their activities to ensure transparency of foreign influence on American politics and public opinion.
The FARA filings refer to a framework document outlining the proposed US-Pakistan cooperation on rare earth minerals and critical metals, citing an indicative trade value of up to $1 trillion, which aligns Islamabad’s economic discourse with Washington’s strategic priorities.
“Lobbying influences how Washington talks about a country, not necessarily what it does,” Rumi cautioned, however. “Structural changes only happen when rights concerns align with strategic recalibration. »
