THE latest batch of documents, dubbed the ‘Epstein Files’, released by the US Department of Justice contain eye-opening and sordid revelations about the lifestyles of some of the richest and most famous figures around the world.

While hundreds of people have had their links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exposed in the newly-released materials, US President Donald Trump – whose name features extensively across the documents – had claimed that the latest batch of files “cleared him of any wrongdoing”.

The millions of new pages, which began to be released on Friday, will take weeks to sift through completely. However, eagle-eyed journalists and social media users have found certain references to Pakistan and India in the files, although they do not appear to be as damaging as the revelations about other, more powerful people.

Pakistani mentions

Pakistan and Pakistani citizens do not feature widely in the documents, with most mentions being fleeting references. For example, quite a few emails between Epstein and Bill Gates’ teams show that the polio programme featured in discussions between the two quite a few times.

A number of these emails exchanges include Boris Nikolic, a former adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In one email, an unidentified individual informs Epstein about how polio teams are being shot in Pakistan and Nigeria, and asks how the financier would go about fixing the situation.

Another email informs Epstein that a shipment of five Pakistani outfits will be arriving soon.

One email between Epstein and JP Morgan executive Jes Staley, dated 2010, promises the former “private time” with a string of foreign dignitaries. The list of names includes that of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the incarcerated PTI leader who was foreign minister of Pakistan at the time under the Yousuf Raza Gilani administration.

In addition, there are mentions of PTI leader Imran Khan. One email between Nikolic and Epstein indicates that Bill Gates was not happy with Pakistani media reporting that he had held a phone call with Mr Khan, something that he feared may be a setback to the polio programme.

In another email, dated Sept 2018, Jide Zeitlin of Goldman Sachs writes to Epstein, saying that he believes “Imran’s leadership is a slow motion car crash, despite China’s scaffolding”.

Modi under fire

The regime of Narendra Modi, however, has not been so lucky. In an email, Epstein writes that Modi had followed his advice to travel to Israel to strengthen relations with the United States.

“The Indian Prime Minister Modi took advice. and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president. They had met a few weeks ago. IT WORKED,” the email message from Epstein reads.

According to The Hindu, the leadership in New Delhi wanted Epstein to connect businessman Anil Ambani to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and Republican strategist Steve Bannon.

According to messages between Ambani and Epstein from March 2017, the meetings were to prepare the ground for Modi’s visit to the US in June of that year.

In addition, Ambani appears to have met with Epstein on May 23, 2019, following which the latter messaged Bannon to say he had met Prime Minister Modi’s “guy”. Epstein said that the person he met had complained that “no one in [Washington] speaks to him,” referring to Mr Modi.

Following the disclosures, the Indian National Congress party demanded the PM come clean on ‘disclosures’ about him made in the Epstein files. However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the references, describing them as “little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal” that deserves to be dismissed with the “utmost contempt”.

Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K.C. Venugopal, said in a post on X, “The reports of the new batch of Epstein Files are a huge wake-up call about the kind of monsters who have access to PM Modi, and how susceptible he is to foreign manipulation.

“Has he met Jeffrey Epstein? Or did he send someone to meet him? What did his conversations with Epstein involve,” the Congress leader asked.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026