New Delhi: Pakistan launched an all-out push to peddle its narrative in Washington during Operation Sindoor last year, with lobbyists hired by Islamabad sending out over 50 emails to various congresspersons and US officials between 7 and 10 May. The emails on the US-Pakistan bilateral relationship came as an overall effort preceding the operation but shifted up a gear during the conflict.
Moreover, new disclosures under the US’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) have revealed that after Operation Sindoor, Pakistan’s lobbyists tried hard to drive home the point that Islamabad was worried India “could resume” military attacks, while asserting it would “welcome” America’s role as mediator. All this while maintaining that it “seeks peace, de-escalation and regional stability”.
The FARA filings indicate that both India and Pakistan have relied on lobbyists for everything from discussing delegation visits to improving bilateral ties and even crafting international agreements.
Islamabad in the last year signed multiple contracts with different lobbyists including Keith Schiller’s Javelin Partners and Squire Patton Boggs. It has maintained a long-standing relationship with Qorvis Communications since 2002 and signed on Ervin Graves Strategy Group last October for a three-month contract worth $25,000 a month.
During Operation Sindoor, Squire Patton Boggs, the FARA filings have shown, reached out to a number of Congresspersons with emails on US-Pakistan relations. Javelin reached out to Senator Ronny Jackson from Texas’ office during the conflict.
Squire Patton Boggs circulated materials on Pakistan’s position on the conflict to various stakeholders, highlighting that Islamabad is worried over India’s position that Operation Sindoor has been “paused” and military attacks “could resume”. Furthermore, according to the materials made public, Pakistan asserted that it “would welcome” the US as a mediator in the issues between New Delhi and Islamabad, while thanking US President Donald Trump for his “constructive role…in supporting the ceasefire of May 11”.
During Pakistan’s outreach, SHW Partners LLC hired by the Embassy of India in Washington D.C. reached out to Brett Baier of Fox News to pitch an interview between Ambassador Vinay Kwatra and the news channel, known to be favoured by Trump.
SHW Partners contacted Susie Wiles, Trump’s Chief of Staff, Ricky Gill, a member of the National Security Council (NSC), Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative and Steven Cheung, the White House Communications Director to discuss the “media coverage of Operation Sindoor” on behalf of India.
Gill was recently awarded a commendation by the National Security Council for his role in “mediating” the conflict between India and Pakistan. India has rejected all claims by the US of mediating an end to the 87-hour conflict, maintaining that the cessation of hostilities was arrived at bilaterally.
Days after the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead in India’s Jammu and Kashmir last year, India snapped up Jason Miller and SHW Partners LLC as a lobbyist for $1.8 million over a year. Similarly, Pakistan signed on Javelin Partners LLC, headed by Keith Schiller. Both Miller and Schiller are former associates of Trump.
In August, India signed on Mercury Public Affairs as a lobbyist. Susie Wiles was a co-chair of the firm before taking on her current role with the Trump administration.
The use of lobbyists is not new. India has engaged with lobbyists since at least right after Independence. In 1949, Fred Rosen of Win Nathanson Associates had registered as a foreign principal for the Indian embassy. Princely states at the time including the then Kingdom of Mysore and Nizamate of Hyderabad had their own lobbyists.
However, the scale and usage of lobbyists have increased in scope, especially in the last year, with some indication of their overuse by the embassy currently. Under US law, all lobbyists for foreign countries must be registered and their efforts are made publicly available periodically.
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Pakistan’s reliance on lobbying for agreements
Javelin, however, seems to have had a major impact on US-Pakistan ties. Its first meeting on 1 May 2025 on-behalf of Islamabad was on “rare-earth developments” in Pakistan. Javelin focused on pushing the potential rare earth elements partnership between the US and Pakistan, even delivering a proposed bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) to Ronny Jackson and Representative Ryan Zinke’s offices on 28 May. A day later the MoU was sent to the Department of Defense/War.
The MoU was signed in September and was considered the growing partnership between Islamabad and Washington after years of strained ties.
On 14 May, Squire Patton Boggs in an email to Elizabeth K. Horst, an American diplomat, the law-firm discussed the potential of a renewed US-Pakistan partnership centring on trade, especially mines and minerals. The email also indicated that Pakistan has taken “resolute actions” against Iranian support for terrorist separatists and welcomes any further “coordination” with the US in this area.
In June, the US launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Javelin continued its efforts to promote Pakistan’s interests, apart from the critical minerals MoU, by interacting with a number of journalists from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to discuss the ongoing representation of Islamabad in the US.
Qorvis Communications sent out emails on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and highlighting Islamabad’s position on the situation. Ties between Islamabad and Washington have seemingly improved in the last year, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir both making visits to the White House and meeting Trump.
For India, lobbyists set up meetings with officials
At the end of May, Miller’s firm reached out to Hannah Gonzalez—a Special Assistant in the US Department of Defense (also known as the Department of War)—to set up a meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy National Security Adviser Pavan Kapoor with Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg and Undersecretary Elbridge Colby.
The lobbying firm also reached out to the offices of US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to facilitate a meeting between the two US officials and the all-party delegation led by MP Shashi Tharoor that was visiting Washington between 3 and 5 June last year.
In June, SHW Partners also reached out to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to set up a meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Similarly, the firm reached out to the offices of Vance and Hegseth for meetings.
Through the year, Miller’s firm was in touch with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Greer and Wiles on the ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US. SHW Partners also flagged social media posts of interest by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to various White House officials.
Trade discussions between India and the US have stalled in recent months. India currently faces one of the highest tariff rates for any exporter to the US at 50 per cent. New Delhi has shared its final offer for the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal with Washington at the end of last year. However, the decision remains stalled at the political level.
Miller has also flagged India’s support for Trump’s marquee efforts to end the Russia – Ukraine war in material shared with stakeholders.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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