Pakistan hires Trump-linked lobbyists to boost ties with US amid India tensions
Pakistan
has hired two lobbyist firms close to the US President to plead its case amid conflict with India which may have had its impact on Donald Trump's recent approach in equating India with Pakistan.
Longtime Trump associates have recently signed their agreements to represent Pakistani. Javelin Advisors' Keith Schiller, Trump's former bodyguard, and George Sorial, the Trump Organisation's former compliance chief, would facilitate Pakistan create "long-term economic partnerships" in the US by boosting the country's ties to the US government and private sector. Sources claim this would explain Trump's constant references on the trade deal with Pakistan.
Pakistan is trying to secure investments for its mining sector, including from US companies. Lobbyists hired by Pakistan are trying to impress the Trump administration on the economic potential of Pakistan-US ties.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
기미 잡티, 레이저에 헛돈 쓰지 마세요
두아이연구원
Undo
Meanwhile, the MEA spokesperson, answering a question on hiring of lobby firms by India in the US said, "This is not a new practice. This has been in place for several decades and under successive governments since the 1950s. These firms have been regularly engaged by the Embassy as per the requirement of the situation. All such engagements are available in the public domain. In the run-up to the Nuclear Deal in 2007 and thereafter, firms were engaged to strengthen India's case. I should also add that such a practice is common among Embassies and other organisations in Washington DC and in other parts of the US."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Rahul Jacob: Manufacturing is crying out for a reality check
In a world of wildly exaggerated claims for artificial intelligence (AI), the paradox is that the mythology which leads governments to favour manufacturing over services often seems like a global religion. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted a few months ago fantasizing that 'the army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones" would soon move back to the US. Hardly a fortnight goes by without New Delhi and indeed governments overseas announcing some new incentive for manufacturing. In India's case, this is usually via the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Also Read: Think ahead: India's electronics manufacturing must go up the value curve China led the way a decade ago and provoked a similarly mercantilist pushback from the West. Kicking off its 'Made in China' scheme for the manufacturing domination of a swathe of high-tech sectors, Beijing declared 'the history of the rise and fall of nations has repeatedly proved that without a strong manufacturing industry, there will be no country and no nation." Beijing's melodramatic declaration underlined what is best described as manufacturing machismo, evident also in the Donald Trump administration's obsession with trade deficits faced by the US in manufactured goods. For all of China's success in electric batteries and vehicles, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China last week pointed out that in electric vehicles, for instance, only three of 112 manufacturers are making a profit. Perhaps only communist accounting principles would allow such distortions. Also Read: Time to re-imagine Indian manufacturing from the ground up At a time when Beijing is seeking to boost its domestic economy because of uncertainty over trade with the US, the risk is that Beijing's issuances of new bonds will be used for servicing debt rather than boosting consumption or starting new production. Already, massive over-production means that China's deflation in producer prices has got entrenched. And its strategy of dumping goods in foreign markets is being ratcheted up to a new level. This week, BCA Economic Research in Jakarta observed of Indonesia's 22% increase in imports in April that this 'surge originated from Singapore (+48% year-on-year) and China (+54% year-on-year), indicating either potential trans-shipment activity or dumping of excess inventory." The supreme irony is that we live in an era in which manufacturing produces fewer and fewer jobs in factories because of the increasing use of robots. China has been among the world leaders in making robots and using them. Fifteen years ago, I used to joke that I was the 'factories correspondent' for the Financial Times because so much of my work in Guangdong involved visits to factories, which accounted for a dominant share of global production in industries such as light bulbs, knitwear and smartphone accessories. Even then, amid a push by the provincial government to raise factory wages by double-digit levels in Guangdong, I was surprised to see Hong Kong firms using robots in industries such as garment manufacturing. On a visit to a Ford plant in India at Sanand, Gujarat, a few years later, I saw far fewer workers on the factory floor than I expected and plenty of robots. Also Read: How a manufacturing boom could help India close the gender gap The most recent figures from the International Federation of Robotics released in November 2024 show that South Korea leads the way with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees. China is third with 470 robots for every 10,000 workers. An obsession with manufacturing jobs is thus myopic because automation is a principal leitmotif of new factories. 'We are now in a tech race over the software and machines that will power manufacturing, more than the manufacturing itself," Joe Leahy, China bureau chief for the Financial Times and co-author of a recent article on 'Made in China,' told me. Electric vehicle plants, he observes, look like 'power stations" because there are so few humans on site. India does not figure in the world's top 20 nations for robot density. Yet, at the same time, as Raghuram Rajan has pointed out, we are a global player in making software for the design of semiconductor chips. A peculiarity of New Delhi's obsession with manufacturing over several decades is that it trumpets successes in capital intensive manufacturing while treating labour-intensive industries, such as garments and tourism that produce thousands of jobs, as stepchildren. Garments deserve priority in free trade agreements. So too does visa-free access to India for tourists from rich countries. Also Read: India can leap from cost competitiveness to innovation-led manufacturing Another oddity is that India's success in attracting global capability centres rarely dominates headlines or policy discussions. It routinely shows up in our export data: service exports jumped a staggering 45% year-on-year in the fourth quarter and boosted our GDP for that quarter, as announced last week. Also in the news is that our 'Make in India' scheme for solar modules is running well behind schedule. Moneycontrol reported that solar module capacities are running at a fifth of what the PLI scheme envisioned would be onstream by April 2026. Part of the problem is that visas for Chinese advisors and technicians have proved problematic. If Beijing is content to subsidize our solar panels, we should let it. We seem dependent on China in this industry in any case and our bilateral trade deficit is at record levels anyway. Even amid the fog of manufacturing myopia, it ought to be obvious that India has a comparative advantage in sunshine. The author is a Mint columnist and a former Financial Times foreign correspondent.
The Hindu
24 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Trump calls China's Xi tough, 'hard to make a deal with'
Donald Trump said on Wednesday (June 4, 2025) that Chinese President Xi Jinping is tough and "extremely hard to make a deal with," days after the U.S. President accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. "I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH," Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said on Monday that Mr. Trump would speak with Mr. Xi this week as the two leaders seek to iron out differences on last month's tariff agreement in Geneva, among larger trade issues. A U.S. trade court last week ruled that Mr. Trump overstepped his authority in imposing the bulk of his tariffs on imports from China and other countries under an emergency powers act. Less than 24 hours later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, saying it was pausing the trade court ruling to consider the government's appeal.
Mint
25 minutes ago
- Mint
IdeaForge share price: Drone stock jumps 7%, gives 55% returns in one month. Do you own?
IdeaForge Technology share price rallied over 7% on Wednesday amid a sharp uptick in trading volumes. The drone stock, IdeaForge shares spiked as much as 7.80% to ₹ 605.50 apiece on the BSE. On June 4, approximately 23 lakh equity shares of IdeaForge Technology changed hands on the exchanges, significantly higher than its one-week average volume of 11 lakh shares. The recent rally in IdeaForge comes on the back of heightened investor interest in defence and drone stocks, following the escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict. The Indian Army's 'Operation Sindoor', launched on May 7, showcased the country's indigenously developed drone and defence capabilities, including the destruction of key Pakistani air bases and the interception of incoming drones and missiles. IdeaForge Technology share price has jumped over 70% since May 6 — just a day before the operation. IdeaForge share price has gained 56% over the past month and 74% in the last three months. However, the drone stock is still down 4% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis and has declined 7% over the past year. Despite the recent recovery, IdeaForge shares continue to trade significantly below their listing and issue prices. The company debuted on the bourses on July 7, 2023, with a stellar listing at ₹ 1,305.10 per share — over 94% above its issue price of ₹ 672. The stock hit a 52-week high of ₹ 864.10 on July 12, 2024, and a 52-week low of ₹ 301 on April 7, 2025. IdeaForge share price has been forming higher highs with strong volumes. The recent price upmove is supported by high volumes. The short-term bias for IdeaForge shares remains positive and we can see a rally towards ₹ 650 level, said Ruchit Jain, Vice President, Equity Technical Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Jain suggests a 'buy on dips' strategy and has an IdeaForge share price target of ₹ 650. At 12:05 PM, IdeaForge Technology share price was trading 5.79% higher at ₹ 594.15 apiece on the BSE. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
