By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: In the fraught period after an attack in occupied Kashmir last spring, India’s embassy in the United States turned to a well-connected Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House to help manage diplomatic relations, trade talks and a mounting confrontation with Pakistan, Indian newspaper The Hindu reported on Tuesday.
Fresh disclosures filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act reveal how SHW Partners LLC, headed by Jason Miller, a longtime adviser to President Donald J. Trump, worked to arrange high-level contacts, including outreach to senior administration officials on the very day a ceasefire was announced in the India-Pakistan standoff. The documents, filed with the Justice Department and detailing activities from April through December 2025, describe a flurry of efforts by New Delhi to promote its priorities during a time of heightened regional conflict and economic strain from the Trump administration.
The Hindu reported that the SHW Partners was hired on April 24, two days after the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead. The firm signed a one-year contract valued at $1.8 million, with India committing to monthly payments of $150,000 and quarterly advances of $450,000. Vinay Kwatra, India’s ambassador to the United States, was listed as the primary point of contact.
Central to the firm’s role was supporting India’s pursuit of a bilateral trade agreement, with talks expected to continue through 2025. SHW Partners set up meetings, calls and emails between Indian diplomats and officials at the State Department and the National Security Council. The firm also offered guidance on dealing with the Trump administration, Congress, state governments, think tanks and other groups, and it organized interactions on defense issues for the Indian ambassador and defense attaché during Indian attack on Pakistan May 7.
The filings describe intense activity on May 10, when SHW Partners assisted the embassy in contacting four key Trump officials — White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Ricky Gill of the National Security Council — to address media reports on the India-Pakistan conflict. That same day, a ceasefire was announced, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating at 5:37 p.m. the war had ended. It is not clear if the contacts happened before or after the announcement, but they reflect the tight coordination between the Indian embassy and the White House during the episode. The ceasefire’s origins have been a point of contention ever since between India and the US. Trump took public credit for arranging it, a claim supported by Pakistan but dismissed by India, which insisted it resulted from direct military talks between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the opposition The Indian National Congress party, pointed to the filings in noting that “much obviously happened on May 10, 2025 leading to the first announcement of the halt of Op Sindoor by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 17:37 hrs,” the newspaper reported. For its part, the Indian embassy defended the arrangement as routine. “It is a standard practice for embassies, private and business organisations in the USA to hire the services of lobbyists and consultants to augment outreach,” the embassy told Indian news agency PTI. “The Indian embassy has hired such firms, consistent with local practice and requirements under successive governments since the 1950s.”
The Hindu reported that the SHW Partners was not the only firm India hired during this time. In August 2025, shortly before a 50 percent tariff on Indian exports was due to begin, the embassy contracted with Mercury Public Affairs for communications support, paying a monthly fee of $75,000 for three months. The hiring occurred as Trump increased economic pressure, imposing a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods on Aug. 1 and raising it to 50 percent on Aug. 27. Trump said India’s imports of Russian oil were supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The lobbying included setting up meetings for senior Indian officials, such as External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar, the foreign secretary and the deputy national security adviser. SHW Partners also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media messages commending Trump and arranged calls to the White House and the trade representative’s office. “Still, despite these gestures — and Mr. Modi’s expressions of support — a full trade deal has eluded the two sides after several rounds of talks,” the newspaper reported.
The newspaper said the case is part of a broader history of India’s involvement in Washington’s lobbying world, where such advocacy is a standard, regulated practice without the controversy it might provoke in other places. “The filings prompt questions about New Delhi’s approach: Did the embassy hire SHW Partners after planning strikes against Pakistan? With Trump’s recent tilt toward Islamabad, how much influence did the firm secure? And in the tariff dispute, can compliments like Modi’s posts and arranged discussions ease the trade tensions?” the newspaper asked. “These issues arise as Indian interests in the United States face wider difficulties.”
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