Pakistan lobbying contract seeks closer US defence and minerals ties

Pakistan hired a US lobbying firm to press Washington for stronger security cooperation and investment in minerals, according to a two-year contract filed in a public official database.

The $1.2 million agreement with Ervin Graves Strategy Group began in May. The report said it covers a period when Pakistani officials and experts see a chance to turn improved relations with Donald Trump's administration into concrete benefits.

The contract directs the Capitol Hill-based firm to engage with the US Congress and government and to arrange meetings, including with Pentagon and National Security Council officials. It expands an October short-term agreement between Pakistan's embassy in Washington and the firm, and raises the monthly payment to $50,000.

Pakistan's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A US State Department spokesperson said the two countries continue to identify areas of cooperation linked to trade and some security priorities.

The filing outlines Pakistani efforts to restore defence cooperation arrangements from the Afghanistan war period and to attract investment in a minerals sector currently dominated by China. Elizabeth Threlkeld, a former US diplomat in Pakistan and head of the Stimson Center's South Asia Program, said the contract matches Trump administration priorities, including critical minerals and counterterrorism, and also shows interest in building support in Congress.

The contract calls for emphasis on threats from Afghanistan and for continued US support for Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts. Islamabad is carrying out strikes on Afghanistan in response to militant violence. Afghanistan's Taliban government denies that the country is involved in militancy in Pakistan.

The report said Pakistani army chief Asim Munir's relationship with Trump has raised Islamabad's influence in a bilateral relationship long viewed through a security lens. Trump has referred to Munir as his "favourite field marshal" after contact following a conflict with India that Trump helped mediate last year.

A source familiar with the matter said Pakistan's help in US-Iran negotiations that led to a June interim agreement created an opportunity. The source said Pakistan wanted the relationship to become more institutional and less dependent on personal ties.

US-Pakistan relations have drifted since the 2021 withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. The contract tells Ervin Graves to work toward resuming appropriate high-level bilateral defence and security dialogue mechanisms. It says this could include reviving the Defense Consultative Group, a forum used during the Afghanistan war era.

Shuja Nawaz, an Atlantic Council fellow and author on Pakistan-US relations, said the Defense Consultative Group became less active as US security assistance to Pakistan declined. He said there is now no direct US aid worth mentioning.

A Pakistani security source said defence ties have continued, though their scope and intensity have fluctuated. The source said intelligence cooperation led last year to the capture of an Islamic State group operative allegedly involved in a deadly 2021 Kabul airport attack.

The contract also covers minerals. It instructs the lobbying firm to support efforts to find cooperation opportunities, recommend policy and investment engagement strategies, and identify possible investors. The report said this could build on US interest in mining in Balochistan, a province with large untapped copper reserves. In December, Washington pledged $1.25 billion for the Reko Diq copper and gold mine in Balochistan.

Balochistan is Pakistan's least-developed province and faces a growing separatist insurgency. The report said the insurgency has also targeted Chinese mining investments. Nawaz said Pakistan would need to address such obstacles and strengthen its economy to make itself more attractive to foreign investors.