New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) When it comes to Pakistan’s foreign policy there has been a noticeable shift. The foreign policy which was formally conducted through diplomats and Embassies has now witnessed a marked change.
Today there is a lot of reliance on businessmen, lobbyists, crypto entrepreneurs, personal networks and political intermediaries.
Disinfo Lab, a group of researchers who investigate Info-warfare and Psy-war said in a series of posts on social media platform X that since 2024 there have been multiple such cases that explain this in the form of a pattern across the US, Gulf and China.
Pakistan always has someone with the right contacts, give them enough cover, and let them open doors that official diplomats cannot, it also said.
One of the most striking examples surfaced in April 2026, when US Vice President J.D. Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Islamabad for talks that were aimed at easing tensions between the United States and Iran.
Standing among the senior Pakistani officials welcoming them was Umar Farooq Zahoor, a Dubai-based businessman of Pakistani origin. Zahoor is the same person who has spent several years under scrutiny in Europe. He was born in Sialkot before his family migrated to Norway. He has long been accused of financial misconduct and Norwegian authorities have pursued him for years in connection with major fraud investigations. He was convicted in Oslo in 2003 in connection with a travel-agency fraud case.
In 2010 the Oslo police linked Zahoor to the Nordea bank fraud case involving millions of dollars.
Following this, the Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against him.
The notice was however dropped after Pakistan requested its removal in 2022.
However, authorities in Norway continue to pursue various aspects of this case. Despite all these allegations, his standing in Pakistan has risen steadily with Zahoor even receiving the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2025 which is Pakistan’s second-highest civilian honour for contributions to foreign investment.
Officials say that this signals Pakistan’s broader pattern where persons carrying significant baggage abroad remain useful to Islamabad.
Disinfo Lab says that the same logic is visible in Pakistan’s growing embrace of cryptocurrency diplomacy.
In April 2025, Islamabad began major crypto-sector engagement through the World Liberty Financial (WLF), a venture that is linked to the Trump family.
At the centre of this was one Bilal Bin Saqib. He joined the WLF in April 2025 as an adviser and eleven days later, Pakistan and the WLF signed a cooperation agreement.
The timing was interesting and this came at a time when the Pahalgam terror attack took place. This was followed by India’s Operation Sindoor to avenge the attack in which multiple terror training facilities in Pakistan were destroyed.
It was at this time that Pakistan was cultivating political, financial and strategic relations with influential American people.
Bilal rose in the ranks and went on to become chief executive of Pakistan’s Crypto Council. The council also appointed Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as a strategic adviser. Zhao had previously pleaded guilty to US anti-money-laundering violations, while Binance agreed to pay billions of dollars in penalties.
Questions also emerged regarding Bilal’s corporate network in the United Kingdom.
Several companies linked to him reportedly share the same address, maintain limited public operations and offer little financial transparency.
One company, Tayaba UK, has links to Al Mustafa Trust, an organisation whose leadership includes several retired Pakistan Army officers.
In April 2025, Pakistan hired Seiden Law on a contract to facilitate access within the US political system.
The contract with the firm was worth $200,000 per month. The firm partnered with Javelin Advisors, a firm that was founded by Keith Schiller, Donald Trump’s longtime bodyguard and former Oval Office aide, along with George Sorial, a veteran Trump Organisation executive.
The documents filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act revealed that the one objective involved presenting Pakistan’s position on Kashmir and India-Pakistan relations before the White House, Congress and among other American policy circles.
This appeared to pay off and Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir, secured a visit to the White House. This led to tariff reductions and also attracted American investment commitments in Pakistan.
The Dinsinfo lab report says that this model extends beyond the United States.
In China, another figure drew attention when Zaeem Shiko, associated with Pakistan’s drone industry sector, was reportedly detained by Chinese customs authorities in Shenzhen over allegations involving drone-component smuggling.
The pattern looked similar-a private sector intermediary operating within a strategically sensitive industry while occupying the space between state policy and commercial activity.
Pakistan has heavily invested in narrative management.
Foreign bloggers, influencers and content curators are invited regularly to curated tours.
When the Indian agencies bust an influencer network it was learnt that these persons were invited and paid to produce positive content which is amplified through state-linked channels.
An official said that Pakistan’s diplomacy is no longer confined to embassies and foreign offices.
There is a parallel system that has emerged and it comprises of fixers, intermediaries and influence brokers.
The same issue was also reported in May this year.
US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said in a report that Pakistan’s engagement with foreign powers is increasingly being led by fixers.
The report said that Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang citing Norwegian State Attorney Carl Graff Hartmann had said that Zahoor was still wanted in connection with a 2010 fraud case linked to Nordea Bank involving more than 60 million Norwegian kroner ($6.5 million).
The report also raised questions over Zahoor’s appearance alongside J.D. Vance during his visit on April 11.
–IANS
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