Shaun
India and Pakistan have both signed up former Trump allies as consultants, days after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Ties between the two countries have remained tense as New Delhi has imposed punitive measures against Islamabad after announcing “cross-border linkages” to the attack that claimed 26 lives.
On 24 April, the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C. signed a contract worth $1.8 million for one year till 23 April, 2026, with SHW Partners LLC (SHW). The monthly fee per month is $150,000. The principal for SHW is Jason Miller, a former senior adviser to US President Donald J. Trump, who worked on all three of his presidential campaigns.
“SHW’s representation will encompass providing strategic counsel, tactical planning, and government relations assistance on policy matters before the U.S. Government, the U.S. congress, state governments, academic institutions, think tanks, and any other relevant stakeholders as required,” SHW’s Registration Statement as a foreign agent filed to the US Department of Justice said.
The registration of Miller as a foreign agent came two days after at least four gunmen wielding AK-47 rifles sprayed bullets at tourists near J&K’s Pahalgam, which left 25 Indians and one foreign national dead.
On 23 April India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) was made aware of the “cross-border linkages” to the attack and accordingly took punitive measures against Pakistan, including holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.
Other measures taken by India included expulsion of three defence advisers from Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi and annulment of the posts, revocation of visas to Pakistani nationals, closure of Attari border and overall reduction of strength of staff at Islamabad’s mission in India from 55 to 30.
A day later, Pakistan reacted with its own measures, announcing that it “shall exercise” the right to hold all bilateral agreements with India, including the Simla Agreement in abeyance, the closure of the Wagah border, the reduction of staff strength at India’s mission in Islamabad to 30 from 55 and banning Indian flights from accessing Pakistani airspace.
There has been consistent firing across the Line of Control (LoC), as tensions continue to build between the two South Asian neighbours. The US leadership including President Trump have come out strongly in support of India. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America “stands with India”, while Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, described the situation as an “Islamist terrorist attack targeting Hindus”.
More than 100 American members of Congress also shared messages of support over the Pahalgam attack. With New Delhi busy building a diplomatic case, which includes both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaking to their international counterparts, Pakistan has also stepped up its diplomatic outreach.
Pakistan lobbies on J&K
On 25 April, the Pakistani Embassy in the US signed a contract worth $50,000 a month for six months with Javelin Partners LLC (Javelin), which is headed by Keith Schiller, the former personal bodyguard of Trump and later director of security for the Trump Organisation, George Sorial, a former executive vice president and counsel for the Trump Organisation and Robert W. Seiden, the managing partner at Seiden Law.
The registration of Schiller and Sorial as foreign agents for Pakistan is publicly available on the website of the US Department of Justice.
Javelin will “provide strategic and advisery services to establish long-term economic partnerships with the United States through collaborative efforts and a strong alliance with the private sector and the U.S. Government, specifically to facilitate the representation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” according to its filing with the Department of Justice.
The agreement with Javelin comes a couple of weeks after Seiden’s law firm signed a contract with the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington on 8 April, 2025 to “specifically promote the exploration and sale of rare earth/ critical minerals” with the White House and private sector in the US, its filing with the Department of Justice shows.
The contract with Seiden Law is for $200,000 a month for six months.
The scope of work under Seiden’s contact includes ensuring “that Pakistan’s perspectives on important regional and global issues (Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Pakistan-India relations, situation in Afghanistan)” apart from Islamabad’s ties with Beijing is “effectively communicated” to the US administration, Congress and the think tank community.
