• The Hindu report says lobbying firm headed by former Trump aide Jason Miller led engagement with US officials on New Delhi’s behalf
• Former diplomats say use of lobbyists is normal, but important meetings are usually set up directly by diplomats
NEW DELHI: Although the government of Narendra Modi has persistently denied that the US played any role in mediating an end to the four-day India-Pakistan conflict following the Pahalgam incident, a report in The Hindu details how a lobbying firm engaged by New Delhi made hectic calls to approach US officials on May 10, and beyond.
According to a filing with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) — including 60 entries made in December 2025 — did not divulge whether the calls on May 10 were made before or after the ceasefire, “they indicate close interaction on the day”, The Hindu wrote.
It said the embassy approached White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Ricky Gill at the National Security Council to discuss “media coverage” of the conflict.
This seems to contradict New Delhi’s stance, which has repeatedly denied several claims by US President Donald Trump, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to award Mr Gill for the role he played in defusing the crisis.
In particular, the External Affairs Ministry consistently denied Trump’s contention he had threatened to stop trade if the conflict was not ended, and the call made to Mr Greer to discuss Operation Sindoor is particularly significant, the paper said.
The filings by US lobby firm SHW LLC raised eyebrows amongst diplomats in New Delhi as the firm also claimed that it set up meetings for several Indian officials — from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor, and even Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra — with top Trump administration officials over the past year.
SHW LLC was contracted by the Indian Embassy on April 24, 2025. Dawn had previously reported on May 2 that former Trump aide Jason Miller’s firm had been engaged by New Delhi as a registered foreign agent for $150,000 per month.
It had no other clients over the year, according to the six FARA filings it made, and has been paid $900,000 in two quarterly instalments as part of an annual contract for $1.8 million.
The practice is a first, say former and current Indian officials, and indicates that rather than normal bilateral channels, the engagements — broadly over India-US trade ties and Operation Sindoor — were set up by the firm, led by former Trump spokesperson Miller, who is listed as the principal of SHW LLC.
While the embassy has always contracted two to three lobbyists at a time, to consult them on working with the Democrat and Republican parties, this is the first time a lobby firm has been asked to set up meetings with US officials, as also to schedule calls with government officials.
“Such meetings are routinely sought by the mission directly,” at least two Indian government officials told The Hindu.
“This seems to indicate that the Trump administration has set new rules of engagement and the government has been left with little choice but to play along,” a former diplomat, who had served at the Indian embassy previously, said.
“The Indian Embassy has hired such firms, consistent with local practice and requirements, under successive governments since the 1950s,” a spokesperson for the Indian embassy in Washington said.
About the lobbying firm, The Hindu quoted another official as saying that lobbyists are hired “for advice and to understand the landscape, giving advice, and opening some doors,” but that meetings and calls are made between diplomats directly.
Apart from the calls on May 10, 2025, the firm billed the Embassy for making requests for the Parliamentary delegation led by Opposition leader Shashi Tharoor to meet US Vice-President J.D. Vance and others.
On June 23, 2025, days before Mr. Jaishankar’s visit to Washington to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, SHW says that it sent emails requesting meetings for the Minister with Mr. Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and CIA chief John Ratcliffe.
Of 60 entries detailing requests from the Indian Embassy, 30 recorded by SHW were requests for telephone calls to trade officials and White House senior officials to “discuss [the] status of US-India trade conversations”.
The calls increased in frequency as relations nosedived over US decisions to impose 25pc reciprocal tariffs and another 25pc in penalty tariffs for India’s oil procurement.
As tensions abated after Trump and Modi exchanged cordial words over social media, SHW said it made calls to White House officials to “flag social media post by Prime Minister Modi”.
Trump subsequently called Modi for his birthday on September 17, 2025, and the two leaders have spoken several times since then.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2026
