Even as the Narendra Modi government has firmly denied that the United States played any role in mediating an end to the four-day India-Pakistan military standoff following the Pahalgam incident, a detailed report by The Hindu suggests that New Delhi may have quietly engaged US officials through a lobbying firm during the crisis.
According to the report, a US-based lobbying firm hired by the Indian Embassy made a series of urgent calls to senior American officials on May 10, 2025 — the same day the ceasefire came into effect — and in the days that followed. The activities are outlined in filings submitted to the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
While the filings, which include around 60 entries made in December 2025, do not clarify whether the calls on May 10 were placed before or after the ceasefire, they point to “close interaction on the day,” The Hindu noted.
The report said the Indian Embassy, through the lobbying firm, contacted White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Ricky Gill of the National Security Council to discuss media coverage of the India-Pakistan conflict.
These disclosures appear to contradict New Delhi’s public position, which has consistently rejected claims by US President Donald Trump that Washington helped defuse the crisis. India has also dismissed statements by Trump suggesting he threatened to halt trade unless hostilities ended, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to publicly recognise Ricky Gill for his role in calming tensions.
Particularly noteworthy, according to The Hindu, is the reported outreach to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer regarding “Operation Sindoor,” which suggests that discussions may have gone beyond media narratives and into sensitive policy areas.
The filings were made by SHW LLC, a lobbying firm headed by Jason Miller, a former spokesperson and senior aide to President Trump. The disclosures caused surprise among diplomatic circles in New Delhi, as the firm also claimed it had arranged meetings over the past year for top Indian officials — including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor, and Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra — with senior Trump administration figures.
SHW LLC was formally hired by the Indian Embassy on April 24, 2025. As previously reported by Dawn on May 2, New Delhi agreed to pay the firm $150,000 per month under a one-year contract worth $1.8 million. According to the six FARA filings submitted by the firm, it had no other clients during this period and has already received $900,000 in two quarterly payments.
Former and serving Indian officials described the arrangement as unusual. While Indian missions in Washington have long retained multiple lobbyists to help navigate political dynamics in both the Democratic and Republican parties, this appears to be the first time a lobbying firm was tasked with directly arranging meetings and scheduling calls with US government officials.
“Such meetings are routinely sought by the mission directly,” at least two Indian government officials told The Hindu.
A former diplomat, who previously served at the Indian Embassy in Washington, suggested the development reflected a shift in how the Trump administration operates. “This seems to indicate that the Trump administration has set new rules of engagement, leaving the Indian government with little option but to adapt,” the diplomat said.Responding to questions, a spokesperson for the Indian Embassy in Washington said that hiring lobbying firms is not new and has been done “under successive governments since the 1950s,” in line with local laws and practices.
Another official, quoted by The Hindu, clarified that lobbyists are typically engaged to provide advice, assess the political landscape, and help open doors. “Meetings and calls are usually conducted directly between diplomats,” the official added.Beyond the May 10 calls, the filings show that SHW LLC also billed the embassy for arranging meeting requests for a parliamentary delegation led by opposition leader Shashi Tharoor, including proposed meetings with US Vice-President J.D. Vance.
On June 23, 2025 — shortly before Mr. Jaishankar’s visit to Washington for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting — the firm reported sending emails seeking meetings for the Indian minister with Vice-President Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Out of the 60 recorded interactions detailed in the filings, around half involved requests for telephone calls with senior White House and trade officials to discuss the status of US-India trade negotiations.
These calls reportedly increased as bilateral relations came under strain following Washington’s decision to impose 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, followed by an additional 25 per cent penalty tariff over India’s oil imports.
As tensions later eased and President Trump and Prime Minister Modi exchanged conciliatory messages on social media, the lobbying firm said it contacted White House officials to draw attention to Modi’s posts.
Trump subsequently called Modi on his birthday on September 17, 2025, and the two leaders have spoken several times since, signalling a thaw in relations after a period of strain.