Fact-check: Fake letter claims PTI hired US firm to apologise for anti-US remarks

A letter going viral online suggests that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), an opposition political party in Pakistan, has once again hired an American firm to lobby with the US federal government.

The letter claims that in the new contract, the PTI has agreed to apologise for its past anti-US remarks and offered US legislators assistance in countering China’s influence in Pakistan.

The claim is false. The document is fictitious.

Claim

A supposed letter, dated November 7, is circulating online. It claims to show a formal agreement between the PTI’s US chapter in Texas and Fenton/Arlock LLC, a lobbying firm based in Washington, DC.

As per the alleged agreement, the PTI and the firm have agreed that the latter will lobby US State Department officials to create a “favourable and sympathetic understanding of Imran Khan,” the jailed former prime minister and PTI founder.

The agreement further claims that the PTI “acknowledges and apologises for any prior anti-US remarks made by party leaders” and has promised to support US objectives in Pakistan by countering the growing influence of a neighbouring country.

The purported contract is for three months, with the PTI agreeing to pay a retainer fee of $40,000 per month.

The document was initially shared by the former caretaker information minister on X (formerly Twitter).

Other social media accounts shared the same document believing it to be true.

Fact

In reality, the letter is forged, confirmed both the US lobbying firm and the website of the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

David Fenton, the co-director at Fenton/Arlook LLC, told Geo Fact Check via email that the document circulating online is “forged”. He pointed out spelling errors, such as “Arlock” instead of the correct spelling, “Arlook.”

“Total fake,” Fenton wrote. “We have no engagement with [the] PTI USA now.”

Fenton added that while his firm had worked with the PTI USA in the past, they have had no engagement with the party for several months.

Separately, Geo Fact Check searched the DOJ website, where all advocacy and lobbying firms are required to register their activities.

The alleged agreement dated November 7 does not exist on the DOJ website. However, earlier agreements between the PTI USA and Fenton were found:

1. A 2022 agreement, in which Fenton was hired to contact journalists to present the PTI’s views in the US media. No mention was made of apologising for anti-US remarks or countering China’s influence.
2. A January–June 2024 agreement, where Fenton was tasked with informing the media about “the injustice of Imran Khan’s imprisonment and attacks on democracy in Pakistan.” Again, there was no mention of the PTI apologising for anti-US remarks or countering China.

Both agreements are publicly accessible on the DOJ website.

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