Pakistan accused United States on Thursday of a campaign of slander against Islamabad over the arrest of a US citizen accused of running an ‘illegal front group’ for Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute.
The 62-year-old Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai was held by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on Tuesday for failing to register as a foreign government agent. He is alleged to have used $4 million in Pakistani funds to influence the US’ position on Kashmir.
He was scheduled for a hearing at the federal court in Alexandria on Thursday, but his lawyer could not appear before the court due to a conflict in schedule. The hearing has been delayed till July 26.
The US has accused that Fai’s Pakistani handlers funnelled millions of dollars from the country’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), through a front group, the Kashmiri American Council, of which Fai is the director. If proven guilty, he will face a prison sentence.
Pakistan rejected the allegations calling the development as an attempt to ‘defame the just cause of the Kashmiri people.’
“We appreciate the contributions made by the Kashmiri-American Council (KAC) and Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai for the cause of Jammu and Kashmir,” said a foreign ministry statement.
But it did not say whether the government provided him any funds to propagate its view on Kashmir in the US.
The statement voiced concern over what it called ‘slander campaign against Pakistan.’
“A demarche was made to the US Embassy in Islamabad today to register our concerns, in particular the slander campaign against Pakistan,” the statement added.
The statement maintained that the Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest disputes on the agenda of the UN.
There are several UN Security Council Resolutions on the subject that affirm the inalienable right of the Kashmiris to self-determination, it contended.
The arrest of Fai is said to be linked with the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and the US. Official sources here claim the US move is an attempt to pressurise Pakistan to accept its demands including the release of a Pakistani doctor, who ran a fake polio vaccine drive for CIA in Abbottabad to get the DNA samples of Osama bin Laden’s family.
The issue was believed to be one of the main things discussed at the meeting between Director of the US National Intelligence James Clapper and ISI Chief Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Tuesday.
However, there was no word from both sides on the US official’s visit and his engagements. The Pakistani community in the United States has protested against the arrest. At a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, they announced that a legal relief committee, comprising Kashmiris, will be formed to assist Dr Fai in his case.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
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@Mirza
Pakistan should be a third party and should not try to own this illegal act, even if they have financed it.
Mirza, that would be the logical thing to so. But then, no one can accuse Pakistan and its 'premiere agencies' of having anything to do with logic.
@Pragmatist - Lets not confuse this with Human Right violations of the Kashmiris in Indian occupied Kashmir. The voice of humanity never dies. . . even Hitler could not do that! Cheap Shot on your part Mr. Pragmatist.
Today's news: UK has started an inquiry into the affiliate of KAC in UK and its connections to ISI. There is no turning back!
@ Analyst, Okay agree with you there is an UN Resolution and the problem should have solved long back.
According to the UN Resolution, a plebiscite can be conducted in Kashmir which includes all of Kashmir, that is the Pakistan occupied Kashmir and the China Occupied Kashmir. For that to happen, Pakistan and China has to vacate from Kashmir first. During the years, a lot of infiltration has happened of non Kashmiris in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, So the UN Resolutions have become as good as redundant.
Going through all the comments here, it looks like that the Pakistan has accepted that Kashmir gets independence rather then be with India, okay for a moment lets agree if its true, then what happens to Pakistan occupied Kashmir and China Occupied Kashmir.. will all the countries start giving it back to an independent Kashmir.. or will they be fighting with Kashmir for the next 100 years. I am still trying to understand even of the logic of the foreign policy of each country.
Roftcopter: And the pakistanis too.
US has put the final nail in the coffin of Pakistan supporters forum on Kashmir cause in America and many US Senators who were earlier staunch supporters on this issue, have quietly withdrawn their support after OBL fiasco. US is clearly shifting its support towards India and isolating Pakistan on this major problem between the two countries.
@John: I agree with your simple logic. Fai is a born Indian, and a US citizen. He is arrested by his country (US) for breaking its laws and being a paid foreign agent without reporting. Pakistan should be a third party and should not try to own this illegal act, even if they have financed it. Thanks and regards, Mirza
@Ashok...
You don't have to use metaphors.. I can show you some real examples where muslims turned an absolute blind eye..
In Malaysia, Open persecution of hindus which is largely funded by muslim countries. In Cyprus, native christians are bullied and harassed by "occupying" turks..(Muslims never talk about this occupation, but they talk about israel) In Sudan, muslims almost wiped out 10 million christian to satisfy their blood thirsty "arab ummah"... Thank god they are free now..
Name any muslim country, they will definitely have this persecuting record...
@John: He is not a Pakistani.. Indian from Jammu Kashmir.. But US Citizen...
@Realist.: Yes free Kashmir occupied by Pakistan.
The indians here never cease to amaze.
Dr. Fai’s case should be scrutinized properly, before the sentence is carried out. He must not suffer the brunt of the strain in US-Pak relationship.
I still don't get the point... If kashmiri's want independence, why is it a pakistani getting arrested and pakistani government is paying for it??? What about the kashmiris?
The logic should be:
If Indian want independence, indians has to fight and pay. If pakistanis want independence, pakistanis has to fight and pay. If Kashmiri want independence, kashmiris has to fight and pay.
Any opinions...
Just look at all the happy happy joy joy Indians flooding this blog!
@Blithe: An Indian Origin, U.S. Citizen is arrested for breaking the law in U.S. Why We are bothering much and giving so importance?
Let him fight in the U.S. court of law and prove innocent. But what we are going to gain if he is proved innocent? If he is guilty, then he has to be prisoned. But what we are going to loss?
I think Our Government should distant themselves from these type of People who will spoil the name of our Country. Seems to be some backgroung work is going on by U.S. and India with the help of this Double minded Indian.
This is a game both can play.
If you arrest my sympathizers, I can do the same by arresting your sympathizers in US and I will hit you where it hurts most. - US
Sure, keep protesting. What a terrible idea. It is not like anybody in the world believes the Army, the ISI and the govt anymore. Who are we fooling. Denying it and blustering will just confirm the accusations.
@Y Khan: US authorities do not have a problem with the fact that he was lobbying for the Kashmir cause. Lobbying is legal in US. What is illegal is the fact that he hid the source of his funding i.e. ISI. A foreign governments lobbyist must be registered as such. This was not the case with Fai who hid his funding from ISI.
The Pak foreign office first said that Mr Fai was an American citizen and so Pak has no comments ! Now Mr Fai, is not even American citizen of Pak origin. He was born in India and went to college in Aligarh university near New Delhi. He was indian citizen before he became american. So how does his arrest concern Pakistan unless he was a ISI agent as US alleges ?
I have come to the conclusion that all Pakistani liberals are emotional cripples. They really are a sorry sight.
Indian are doing same
Funny. In pakistan nobody talks about the suffering of nonmuslim kashmiries. Don't worry we will make secular kashmir. You just worry about POK.
The arrested is a US citizen, arrested by the US. What is the role of Pakistani Government's role in this?
They must not even know this guy existed, as he was given money by the ISI and ISI is in no way answerable to the Pakistani Government.
And, is there a need for a campaign to malign Pakistan, isn't Pakistan itself doing a heck of a job?
It is time for Pakistan to stop being too clever and start to become a forthright member of the world community. The current path is a one-way ticket to disaster. The Kashmir issue is dead and buried and the sooner Pakistan realizes this the better. The time has come and gone.
Whenever the Government of Pakistan and its very vocal supporters talk of "human rights" it always amuses me. If Palestinians were Hindus and Israel was an Islamic country, would they feel the same way about Palestinians as they do today? Isn't this situation analogous to what happened to Kashmiri Pandits? Does the Pakistani population know that Pakistan is one of only three countries to use air power against their own citizens (on sequential Baloch uprisings, the other two countries being Sri Lanka against Tamils and Russia against the Chechens)? Does the Pakistani population know of Black September operations carried out by Pakistani military forces against Palestinians? Human rights is universal in nature. Religious activism and Political activism are not universal - they each have policy goals or narrow interests. Here's something I like to say to all the self professed human rights supporters of Pakistan - if all of the innocent victims belong to your religion and you can see that they have done no wrong, and all the bad guys just happen to belong to a religion different from yours, you are NOT a human rights activist.
Regards
amazing.....this Dr. afridi who spied for a foreign intelligence agency should be released but Dr Fai who tried to follow the normal political process to plead the case of Kashmiris is jailed. Shame on you America!
"they announced that a legal relief committee, comprising Kashmiris, will be formed to assist Dr Fai in his case."
And that will also be financed by the ISI!
Why cant Pakistan accept or deny that it funded Fai thru ISI.
why the hell we lie to common people and spread false propaganda and news like this for the last 63 years? Even a street child knows that this dirty games are played by our military/ISI in US and millions dollars are spend from our money to fight for a lost cause. When will we learn to tell the truth without putting colors?
This is silly. What does "slander" have to do with being arrested for breaking the law. May I remind the Foreign Ministry that Mr. Fai is alleged to have committed this crime in the the United States. Consequently, US laws have jurisdiction. Not Pakistani laws or Foreign Ministry opinions. The Americans (presumably) have evidence. Mr. Fai, the KAC, and the Pakistani government are entitled to contest that evidence in a US court. End of story.
Wow -- Pakistan denial combined with an attack on the USA -- it's a knee jerk reaction to any bad news Pakistan gets these days.
Is this gentleman a Pakistani, Kashmiri or an American? If he is a US citizen and at the same time a paid agent of a foreign country (Pakistan) then he would be tried for doing illegal lobbying. Pakistani govt has to make it clear “whether they believe in the US system of justice or not?” If they do believe in the fairness of US legal system, then he would get his day in court and justice would be served. There is a campaign in Pakistan to stop dual or foreign nationals contesting elections. Then why would they choose a US citizen to campaign for the rights of Kashmiri? In the whole world they could not find a competent Kashmiri to lobby for their rights without being a mercenary? Mr. Fai would not be in trouble he is, if he would not have gotten millions illegally without registering himself and as foreign agent. Pakistani govt would be better served if they plead his case in the court of law, rather than making public statements and half truths.
Dr. Fai, Keep the faith and keep doing the good work you do by exposing the illegal occupation of Kashmir by 700,000 Indian troops. Keep fighting for the UN Resolutions to be implemented.
History is on the side of the Kashmiris - no country can sequester the inalienable rights of a people.
I'm sorry if the response by the Pakistan Government is a bit anemic. But I want to assure you that the people of Pakistan are greatly perturbed by your immoral and unlawful detention.