Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, is an American citizen of
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
origin, and a
Jamaat-e-Islami activist. He founded the organisation Kashmiri American Council in the United States and carried out lobbying on behalf of
Kashmiri separatist groups and the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
. In 2011, the US government stated that this was a front group for Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI).
[Two Charged with Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Agents of Pakistani Government](_blank)
The United States Department of Justice, 19 July 2011.
Fai was arrested by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
on 19 July 2011, for acting as an unregistered foreign agent,
concealing the transfer of USD 3.5 million from Pakistan's ISI to fund his lobbying efforts and influence the US government on the
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...
, in violation of the
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)2 U.S.C. § 611 ''et seq.'' is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. .
His arrest came at a time when
relations between Pakistan and the United States were strained in the aftermath of the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan,
and while US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
was on a visit to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
On 7 December 2011, Fai pleaded guilty to
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
and
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
(both charges); in March 2012, Fai was sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a US court for ''"''conspiracy to defraud the US" by concealing transfer of funding from Pakistan's ISI for his illegal lobbying efforts on Kashmir.
Early life
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai was born in April 1949 in the Wadwan village of
Budgam district
Budgam district is a district in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Created in 1979 with its headquarters at Budgam, it is the district with the largest population of Shias in the Kashmir valley.
Administration
Budg ...
in the
Kashmir Valley of
Jammu and Kashmir, India.
He graduated from
Srinagar's
Sri Pratap College,
[
] then completed an MA from
Aligarh Muslim University. During his college days, he came under the influence of
Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir
The Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir or Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) is an Islamic political party based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. The organisation's stated position on the Kashmi ...
. He occasionally wrote columns in the local newspapers under the name "Fay Budgami", which eventually resulted in his acquired last name "Fai".
[
]
Mohammad Yusuf Shah, who later became the chief of
Hizbul Mujahideen
Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ( ar, حزب المجاھدین, ), is an Islamism, Islamist militant organization operating in the Kashmir region. Its goal is to separate Kashmir Valley, Kashmir from India and merge it with ...
, is said to have been his childhood friend.
Fai moved to Saudi Arabia in 1967, and then went to the United States. He obtained a PhD in
mass communications
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
from the
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
in 1977. He became a US citizen in 1990.
[
]
Fraudulent Academic Credentials
For decades, Fai has claimed, as he continues to, to have earned a
PhD from
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and constantly referred to himself as "Dr. Fai", as was echoed in the
Pakistani media
Mass media in Pakistan ( ur, ) provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan. Pakistan has a vibrant media landscape; among the most dynamic in South Asia and world. Majority of media in Pakistan is p ...
.
After moving to the United States in 1977 he began a course in mass communications at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
on 'Television in Saudi Arabia'. He completed less than half the PhD requirements and did not receive a degree, yet constantly referred to himself as "Dr. Fai" in official correspondence with the FBI and other law enforcement bodies.
As of 2019, he continues to use his false "Phd" credential in his public engagements, and press outlets.
Kashmiri American Council
Fai was the executive director of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), an ISI module based in Washington, D.C., for the cause of ''"propagating the cause of the right of self-determination of the people of the State of Jammu & Kashmir"''. The KAC was formed by some members of the Kashmiri diaspora,
in Washington, D.C. In the 1990s,
Paul Manafort lobbied for the KAC.
According to the FBI, the Kashmiri American Council - a nonprofit organization - would arrange seminars, conferences and lectures on Kashmir. Officially the KAC denied getting any foreign grants. KAC is best known for annually holding a so-called "Kashmir Peace Conference" in Washington, D.C. which was presented as ''"an independent forum for Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri voices"''. However, the U.S. Justice Department proved in court that the
Pakistan Army, specifically the I.S.I., approved the list of speakers and gave Fai talking points to ''"highlight the Kashmir cause"''.
Political access
Before his arrest in July 2011 and subsequent electronically monitored
house arrest in Virginia, USA, he was a regular visitor to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and met regularly and openly with the highest levels of the political, bureaucratic and military establishment, including the
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI). In the US, Fai's access extended to various mid-level officials in the
State Department, as well as a variety of
backbenchers
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of th ...
including non-ranking Congressmen and a handful of Senators. Typically, his access was limited to those Congressmen to whose election funds the Kashmir American Council (see above) had donated monies, including
Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) and
Dan Burton
Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician. Burton is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was part of the Tea Party Caucus.
Ea ...
(R-Indiana). Fai has never had a meeting with any Secretary of State or with a serving US Ambassador or equivalent rank of official.
Since forfeiting his Indian citizenship by taking US citizenship in 1990, he has been denied visas to visit India on account of his now-publicly-reported ties to the
Pakistani Military
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
, in particular the
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI). He has never had a meeting in any third country with any Indian elected official or any senior diplomat.
Arrest
Fai was charged along with a
Pakistani American associate named
Zaheer Ahmad for obtaining illegal funding from Pakistan for the KAC.
Fai was arrested at his home in
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...
.
According to
Neil MacBride, the United States Attorney at
"Mr. Fai is accused of a decades-long scheme with one purpose – to hide Pakistan's involvement behind his efforts to influence the U.S. government's position on Kashmir, his handlers in Pakistan allegedly funneled millions through the Kashmir Center to contribute to U.S. elected officials, fund high-profile conferences, and pay for other efforts that promoted the Kashmiri cause in favor of Pakistan to decision makers in Washington."
According to prosecutors he was directed by ISI and was in touch with them at least 4000 times in the preceding 3 years.
The prosecutors also alleged that Kashmiri American Council was run by elements of Pakistani government including ISI and had Fai had received at least $4 million from the Government of Pakistan.
If convicted Fai faces up to 5 years in prison.
Zaheer Ahmad was not arrested and was thought to be living in Pakistan.
On 8 October 2011, it was reported that Ahmad had died in Islamabad at the age of 63 due to a
brain haemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
.
Bail
At his initial court appearance, the prosecution claimed that, after his arrest, Fai had admitted to receiving money from ISI but said that he maintained an independent viewpoint on issues pertaining to Kashmir.
FBI agent Sarah Linden stated that previously Fai had denied knowing anyone from ISI. Fai himself said nothing at the trial. He was granted
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countrie ...
and placed under
house arrest. His and his wife's passports were confiscated, and Fai was forbidden from making any contact with any foreign government or witness.
Guilty plea
On 7 December 2011, Fai pleaded guilty in the court of conspiracy and tax evasion. As part of his guilty plea, Fai signed an 81-paragraph "Statement of Fact" cataloguing his crimes, with specific details as to the instructions and payments he received from his ISI handlers. Court documents revealed his primary ISI handlers to have been Javeed Aziz Khan (alias "Brigadier Abdullah ('Khan')"; Major-General Mumtaz Ahmad Bajwa, who later became head of the ISI's Security Directorate that oversees
Kashmiri militant groups, Lieutenant-Colonel Touqeer Mehmood Butt, and Sohail Mahmood (alias "Mir"). An attorney submitted in a foot-note to a US district court in Alexandria, Virginia, that Fai misled people about possessing a doctorate degree.
In March 2012 Fai was sentenced to two years in prison.
Sentence reduction and release
On 15 November 2013, the Assistant US Attorney who had prosecuted Fai asked the court to reduce Fai's sentence to 16 months time served. The motion was granted by the original sentencing judge on 22 November 2013, and Fai was released from the
Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland.
Reactions
The
Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United States.
It is located at 3517 International Court, Northwest, Washington, D.C., 20008 (zip code in the US) in the Cleveland Park ...
issued a statement after the arrest claiming that "it had no knowledge" of Fai's alleged ties with the Pakistani
establishment
Establishment may refer to:
* The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization
* The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England
* The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...
, though he was a regular visitor to the Embassy.
However an unnamed Pakistani official told ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' that Fai was getting funding from ISI as he was unable to raise money from the
Pakistani American community.
The Pakistani government lodged its concern over the arrest and accused the US of embarking on a "slander campaign" against Pakistan.
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( ur, , ''Wazarat-e-Kharja'', abbreviated as MoFA) is a ministry of the Government of Pakistan tasked in managing Pakistan's diplomatic and consular relations as well as its foreign policy. The MOFA is also res ...
released a statement lauding the "contributions made by the Kashmiri American Council and Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir." It further commented that "upholding fundamental rights of Kashmiris is the fundamental responsibility of the international community and all conscientious people who value human rights and values" and added that "campaigns to defame the just cause of the Kashmiri people will not affect its legitimacy."
A statement released by the
Home ministry of India said "The arrest of Ghulam Nabi Fai was long overdue. We had (a) fair degree of suspicion that the money which he received was given by the agencies in Pakistan."
Fai donated money to Congressman
Joseph R. Pitts
Joseph Russell Pitts (born October 10, 1939) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district was based in Lancaster and Reading and included much ...
over the years. After finding out about Fai's arrest, Pitts donated the same amount to charity.
Pitts denied knowing Fai had external financings. In a letter published in
Intelligencer Journal
The ''Intelligencer Journal'', known locally as the ''Intell'', was the daily, morning newspaper published by Lancaster Newspapers, Inc in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is the 7th oldest newspaper in the United States and was one of the oldest news ...
Pitt wrote "Clearly, much more was going on. Dr. Fai will get his day in court. Before long, we will learn exactly what he was doing behind the scenes. Whatever the ISI hoped to accomplish, it didn't work."
U.S representative from Indiana
Dan Burton
Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician. Burton is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was part of the Tea Party Caucus.
Ea ...
, who frequently supports Pakistan's position on Kashmir, was a major recipient of contributions from Fai.
Expressing shock at his arrest, Burton admitted to having known Fai for more than 20 years and stated "in that time I had no inkling of his involvement with any foreign intelligence operation and had presumed our correspondence was legitimate". He said that funds he received from Fai would be donated to the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
.
Fai's arrest was condemned by separatist Kashmiri leader
Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Syed Ali Shah Geelani (1929–2021) was an Islamist,
pro-Pakistan,
Sumantra BoseSyed Ali Shah Geelani: The man who fought for Kashmir’s freedom BBC News, 2 September 2021. "First, he made it clear that although a proud Kashmiri, he conside ...
,
who described him as their "ambassador".
His arrest was welcomed by the
Kashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region l ...
community. According to Lalit Koul, the President of the Indo-American Kashmir Forum, "It was always clear that this (Fai's) group was following the official Pakistani version of the Kashmir story. In all instances, the truth was obfuscated by misinformation provided by our opponents masquerading as Kashmiri freedom fighters."
Post release
After being released, as of March 2020, it was reported that Fai has appeared on media channels across US to highlight "Indian atrocities in Kashmir and against Muslims", authored articles, collaborated with Indian influencers, and resumed his interactions with members of the US Senate.
Family
Fai is married to a Chinese woman in the United States and has two children.
[
]
See also
* India–United States relations
Relations between India and the United States date back to India's independence movement and have continued well after independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. Currently, India and the United States enjoy close relations and have often s ...
* Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...
* Pakistan lobby in the United States
* Pakistan–United States relations
On 15 August 1947, one day after the independence of Pakistan through the partition of British India, the United States became one of the first nations to establish relations with Pakistan. The relations are a very important factor in the United ...
References
External links
Two Charged with Conspiring to Act as Unregistered Agents of Pakistani Government
FBI Press release
Kashmiri American Council
U.S. Representative Dan Burton's comments on Fai's arrest
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14240154 Profile: Ghulam Nabi Fai BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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