Who is Keith Schiller, ex-Trump aide hired as lobbyist by Pakistan amid tensions with India
As tensions escalated between India and Pakistan after the deadly Pahalgam attack and India's retaliatory military strike under Operation Sindoor, both nations decided to take an unconventional route to influence global policy.
For this purpose, both India and Pakistan have hired former insiders from Donald Trump's political orbit as lobbyists in Washington, DC.
India has enlisted Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, to represent its interests in the US capital. Miller's firm, SHW Partners LLC, will receive $1.8 million annually to provide strategic counsel, tactical planning, and government relations assistance.
'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 requirements of the situation. All such engagements are available in the public domain," said Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, at a press briefing on Thursday.
On the other hand, Pakistan hired Keith Schiller, Trump's longtime bodyguard and former Director of Oval Office Operations.
A former New York Police Department detective, Schiller became a part of Trump's inner circle and became one of the US president's most loyal aides.
From running security at Trump Tower to accompanying Trump to the White House as Director of Oval Office Operations, Schiller spent nearly two decades as a trusted confidant and enforcer. Some insiders often describe him as Trump's 'shadow.'
Schiller partnered with Georges Sorel, former compliance chief at the Trump Organization, the duo has launched Javelin Advisors, a firm tasked with helping Pakistan navigate US policymaking channels.
This comes days after Trump, on May 10, made a surprise announcement of an India-Pakistan ceasefire and claimed that the US played a role in brokering the understanding, a claim rejected by India.
The US President also offered to mediate the long-contentious Kashmir issue, which India swiftly rejected.
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