Kashmiri lobbyist: Kashmiri leaders blame India for Fai’s arrest
Hardliners say he is the victim of a diplomatic conspiracy.
SRINAGAR:
Chief of the hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday said the Kashmiri-American arrested in the US on suspicion of being a Pakistani agent is a victim of a diplomatic conspiracy, The Associated Press reported.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai of the Kashmiri American Council has been charged of being an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The US Justice Department says he donated millions to a Washington nonprofit in a secret lobbying effort led by the Pakistani intelligence to influence US policy on disputed Kashmir.
Geelani insisted Fai was innocent and called the allegation the “result of India’s diplomatic efforts and conspiratorial plans.”
“Fai has been active for last 32 years highlighting the plight of his people,” Geelani said. “Because of his unflinching advocacy of the Kashmir cause at the international level, he had become an eyesore for India.”
The Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front also condemned the US charge as going against the democratic path of nonviolence Fai advocated.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.
Chief of the hardline faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday said the Kashmiri-American arrested in the US on suspicion of being a Pakistani agent is a victim of a diplomatic conspiracy, The Associated Press reported.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai of the Kashmiri American Council has been charged of being an unregistered agent of a foreign government. The US Justice Department says he donated millions to a Washington nonprofit in a secret lobbying effort led by the Pakistani intelligence to influence US policy on disputed Kashmir.
Geelani insisted Fai was innocent and called the allegation the “result of India’s diplomatic efforts and conspiratorial plans.”
“Fai has been active for last 32 years highlighting the plight of his people,” Geelani said. “Because of his unflinching advocacy of the Kashmir cause at the international level, he had become an eyesore for India.”
The Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front also condemned the US charge as going against the democratic path of nonviolence Fai advocated.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.