New Delhi: A special NIA court in Jammu & Kashmir’s Budgam Tuesday ordered the attachment of two land plots belonging to Ghulam Nabi Shah alias Fai, a US-based agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Originally from Budgam, the American citizen was convicted in the US for conspiracy and tax evasion.
Fai hails from Budgam district and was earlier this year declared a proclaimed offender by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in relation to a 2020 case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
On Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge Yahya Firdous ordered the Budgam District Collector to demarcate two plots belonging to Fai in his native village, Wadwan, and in another village, Chattabugh, and to attach them.
“This court is satisfied from the record that the accused despite being given an opportunity to appear before the IO (investigation officer) has deliberately and intentionally concealed himself, as such, this court is constrained to issue order for attachment of property in terms of Section 83 of CrPC (85 of BNSS),” the judge observed.
He directed the district collector to attach immovable property “measuring 01 Kanal and 02 Marlas under Khewat No. 60, Survey No. 466 Min in village Wadwan and land measuring 11 Marlas under Khewat No. 136 Survey No. 343 Min situated at village Chattabugh and take possession forthwith”.
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How Fai’s Pakistan links came to light
Fai’s association with the ISI was confirmed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when it arrested him in 2011 for acting as an unregistered foreign agent and obtaining illegal funding from Pakistan to fund his lobbying efforts and influence US policy on Kashmir.
The FBI established a money trail, alleging that Fai falsified financial records to receive at least $3.5 million for his non-governmental organisation, Kashmiri American Council (KAC), from 1990 to 2011 from the ISI and Pakistan government employees in general.
Based in Washington, the KAC formerly operated as the “Kashmir Centre” and organised conferences, lobbying events, and outreach programmes in Washington.
Fai was charged along with an alleged associate named Zaheer Ahmad, who either directly or through a network of donors channelled funds to Fai from the ISI.
Prior to his arrest, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had written to Fai asking him to explain the allegations in the Indian media at the time that he was working as a Pakistani agent. Fai maintained that he was not working as an agent for any foreign government and was instead engaged in public relations. “Contrary to Fai’s repeated representations to the DOJ and the FBI, the investigation has led me to conclude that Fai has acted at the direction and with the financial support of the Government of Pakistan for more than 20 years,” an FBI officer submitted in an affidavit, according to US court documents.
The FBI identified one Javeed Aziz Khan, also known as Brigadier Abdullah, as responsible for Kashmir affairs at the ISI and the primary handler of Fai, submitting that Abdullah had contacted Fai in the mid-1990s.
Overall, the FBI submitted that Fai’s work for the ISI was controlled and monitored by two additional ISI officials, identified as Touqeer Mehmood Butt and Sohail Mahmood, also known as Mir.
To further its allegation of Fai’s association with the ISI, the FBI submitted written communication between him and Abdullah dating back to 1995, when the former submitted a bill for reimbursement of $42,981 for escorting a visitor to the US and organising a show at the United Nations.
The agency also submitted a written communication from Brigadier Abdullah to Fai expressing his disapproval at the latter signing a contract with a PR firm without ISI approval.
Fai had responded to Abdullah the next day that the contract was “part of a strategy to make it appear that the KAC was a Kashmiri organisation run by Kashmiris and financed by Americans”—a term of the contract agreed upon between him and Abdullah’s predecessors in March 1990. He also reminded Abdullah that the two had decided that no one from the Pakistani Embassy would contact the PR firm.
“You are aware that we have been working together for the cause for over a decade now. All these years, I have closely worked with you and others who came before you. It has taken us much time, energy, dedication, strategy, and planning to achieve our common cause,” Fai wrote, according to FBI submissions.
Abdullah shot another message to Fai. “I once again remind you of my earlier advice that any future financial transactions, contracts, visits, events, etc. must be forwarded to us for prior approval,” was his reiteration.
The FBI also unearthed that Fai was sending his ISI contacts annually a document termed ‘Strategy Document for the Kashmiri-American Council, Washington, D.C. USA’, through which he explained how KAC would be used to highlight the Kashmir issue in the US, including the document in 2000 that listed influencing the US administration and the Congress that “self-determination” in Kashmir would be in the national interest of the US.
To implement the 2000 strategy document, the KAC submitted a budget of $490,000, including $80,000 for members of the Congress, $100,000 for a conference and $50,000 for newspaper opinion pieces in the US. It also included a budget estimate of $30,000 to organise a Congressional trip to Kashmir.
Fai pleaded guilty in court of conspiracy and tax evasion and served a 20-month jail term. He has been based in the US since then.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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