The Indian government has hired Jason Miller, a former Trump aide, to lobby for India in Washington, DC for a monthly sum of $150,000 per month. Pakistan has retained Keith Schiller, also a former Trump aide, for a monthly compensation of $50,000 to help Pakistan get favorable treatment by the Trump Administration. It shows that India is outspending Pakistan by 3 to 1 on lobbying in Washington, but it does not appear to be paying off for New Delhi. 

Singh's X message said: "Pakistan is paying $50,000 a month to their lobbyist in DC, while India is paying $150,000. Perhaps the lobbyists don't count. It is what Trump think and does that matters, and his personal equation with the leaders of the countries". He also shared a photo of a Times of India report by Chidanand Rajghatta.  

Jason Miller served as spokesman for the 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign and the Trump Transition Team. Keith Schiller worked as Deputy Assistant to President Trump and Director of Oval Office Operations. 

The obvious reason for the two South Asian nations to pick these men is that they have both been close to President Trump. It is not clear how influential these individuals have been in the recent decisions by the Trump administration in imposing vastly different levels of tariffs on India (50%) and Pakistan (19%). It could also have been other factors such as the substance of trade negotiations and India disputing President Trump's role in bringing about the India-Pakistan ceasefire after a 4-day war in May, 2025, that influenced Trump's decisions. 

A Financial Times story appears to suggest that Pakistan's crypto deal with World Liberty Financial, a Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture. Here's an excerpt from the FT story: "Zach Witkoff, the son of US special envoy Steve Witkoff, said during the trip that Pakistan had “trillions of dollars” of mineral wealth ripe for tokenization. Since then, Bilal bin Saqib, Pakistan’s minister for crypto and blockchain, has emerged as a shadow diplomat, taking part in trade talks with Washington and pitching Pakistan’s crypto potential to figures close to Trump’s family and advisers. Pakistani officials also point to their conduct during the May conflict with India as having bolstered their credibility with Trump". 

FT story quotes Marvin Weinbaum, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, as saying: “Pakistan is a rare country that is friends with China, Iran, the Gulf states, to a lesser extent Russia, and now, again, the US....The US sees (Pakistan's Military Chief) Munir as someone who can play a useful strategic role, and the Pakistanis keep their lines open to everyone but know to pull back when one relationship is clashing with another.”

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