New York PR firm Fenton Communications is claiming credit for Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program during which Khan lambasted India’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and took President Donald Trump up on his offer to help with the crisis.
Khan’s Sept. 26, 2019 appearance was part of Fenton’s $50,000 contract with the International Humanitarian Foundation, a Houston-based organization that supports India’s withdrawal from the disputed territory and calls Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a Nazi. Fenton’s engagement letter was originally addressed to Sajjad Burki, the US representative of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
The contract aimed to “educate the US media and public about the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir” and lasted a little over a week, from Sept. 19 to Sept. 30. At the time Modi and Khan were in the US to speak at the UN General Assembly.
Fenton chairman David Fenton and senior communications officer Ira Arlook worked on the account. They also disclosed distributing a five-page backgrounder entitled, “Religious Hatred in India & Global Security: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-Muslim party founded by Nazi sympathizers.”
“We helped arrange for the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, to meet with journalists and appear on Morning Joe on MSNBC during his September visit to the United Nations,” Fenton wrote in its latest lobbying filing, which covers work done in the six months through March. “The purpose was to push for international assistance with the crisis in Kashmir.”
The firm said it had received more than $50,000 from people, companies, and organizations in late September and early October. David Fenton himself reportedly met with Khan on his visit.