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Thursday, 21 July 2011

HAF commends FBI for arrest of Virgina man with ties to Pakistan's ISI

Washington, D.C. (July 20, 2011) - The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) expressed hope that the arrest of the Kashmiri American Council (KAC) executive director, Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, for allegedly engaging in illegal lobbying activities on behalf of Pakisan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, signals an awareness within American intelligence agencies about any other ISI activities in the United States. Fai, a Fairfax, Virginia resident, along with Zaheer Ahmad, currently believed to be in Pakistan, were charged on Tuesday with conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the Pakistani government. Both are US citizens.
 
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, KAC, otherwise known as the Kashmir Center, was created by the ISI to specifically promote Pakistan’s agenda on Kashmir amongst U.S. government officials and policy makers. Similar centers were also set up by Pakistan in London and Belgium to disseminate anti-India and pro-Kashmiri separatist propaganda on the Kashmir issue.
 
"The arrest of Fai is a troubling reminder of the extensive reach and influence of the ISI,” said Aseem Shukla, MD, Co-Founder and Board Member of HAF. “We commend the FBI for exposing the alleged illegitimate activities of the Kashmir Center and revealing its connection to the ISI, an authoritarian government institution of Pakistan that does not heed the norms or laws of public engagement -- at home or abroad.”
 
Since 9/11, Pakistan has received nearly $20 billion in U.S. aid, including more than $12 billion in military assistance to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. According to the Foundation, which publishes an annual human rights report documenting persecution against Hindus worldwide, Pakistan has redirected large amounts of this money to purchase military equipment for use against India. Between 1989 and 1991, a brutal insurgency funded and nurtured by Pakistan’s ISI in Kashmir has been responsible for the death and displacement of over 350,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits. According to the report, this insurgency continues today as a proxy military force in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and remains a threat to the native Kashmiri Hindu population as well as to the entire nation of India.
 
Fai, who was reportedly on the ISI’s payroll for more than 20 years, received approximately $4 million from Pakistan to use as political contributions for members of Congress from both parties. KAC also used the money to sponsor high-profile conferences and seminars on Kashmir. Among those that received contributions from Fai was Representative Dan Burton (R-Ind), who heads the Pakistan Caucus, and was a harsh critic of India on many issues, including Kashmir.
 
"We're disappointed that the Kashmir Center’s possibly false identity as a legitimate non-profit went unnoticed for so many years as it secretly advanced Pakistan’s interests on Kashmir while ignoring the plight of more than 350,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits,” said Sheetal Shah, HAF’s Senior Director. “If Pakistan is found to have contravened American laws and attempted to influence U.S. foreign policy through the Kashmir Center, such actions must be denounced, and further affect the flow of military support into that country. Furthermore, this is US taxpayer dollars going to a rogue state who is then sending it back to the US through covert means to influence our government officials to do its bidding.”
 
HAF leaders recently issued a statement applauding the Obama Administration’s decision to withhold $800 million in military assistance to Pakistan, and again urged the Administration and Congress to further reduce assistance to Pakistan until it severs all ties to Islamic militant groups operating in the region.

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