Pakistan spent thrice as much as India on lobbying in Washington: Report

Since January, US-Pakistan ties have seen a sharp turnaround. The reason appears to be $5 million paid to President Donald Trump’s confidants.

Unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden, who did not hold a single phone call with a Pakistani leader in four years, Trump has met Pakistani leaders twice at the White House, including an unprecedented meeting with Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, and entered into lucrative deals with the country.

By contrast, Trump has plunged US-India relations to their lowest point in the post-Cold War era with tariffs, incendiary rhetoric, and consistent undermining of India on core national policies ranging from terrorism to Kashmir and Operation Sindoor. But this shift is not merely rooted in Trump’s changing priorities.

ALSO READ: Tariff tirade to Cold War: Trump risks undoing 3 decades of India-US partnership

Instead, it stems from $5 million that Pakistan has poured into lobbying firms run by Trump’s confidants, according to The New York Times.

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The sum is nearly three times what India spent on lobbying.

The timeline of US-Pakistan engagements this year suggests Pakistan’s lobbying firms have worked wonders.

Pakistan buys Trump’s attention — one contract at a time

Under Trump, everything has a price — even access to the White House.

Pakistan has signed contracts with six lobbying firms worth $5 million a year to gain expedited access to Trump and secure favourable deals, according to The Times.

And such an approach appears to have worked. Consider the timeline.

Weeks after Pakistan struck a deal with Seiden Law LLP, which subcontracted Javelin Advisors, a government relations venture, Trump hosted Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, the country’s de facto ruler, at the White House.

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This is exactly what the contract with Seiden Law had promised. Signed on April 8, it assured “a mutually agreed upon number of meetings to enhance Pakistani-US leadership-level engagements at the White House”, according to The Times.

ALSO READ — Trump wants military bases from Munir, offers security-trade deals in US-Pak reset: Report

On the same day, Pakistan also signed a contract with Orchid Advisors, which then subcontracted with Squire Patton Boggs, with the explicit purpose of getting tariffs reduced, The Times reported.

Originally, Trump had imposed a 29 per cent tariff on Pakistan. Weeks after Pakistan and Orchid signed the contract —which pledged “direct advocacy efforts with the Trump administration regarding tariffs and trade” and aimed to “reset the diplomatic, military and commercial relationship”— he reduced the tariff to 19 per cent. At the same time, Trump slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff on India, raising its total to 50 per cent — the highest in the world.

In addition to tariff relief and direct access to Trump, the United States and Pakistan have agreed a $500 million deal for natural mineral extraction.

“You can sort of look at the dots connecting themselves,” said Michael Kugelman, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

“There were lobbyists charged with dealing with the tariff issue, then Pakistan’s tariffs come down. There are lobbyists contracted to promote economic cooperation, then you have all this interest from the US in critical minerals and energy,” said Kugelman.