Srinagar: A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday ordered the immediate attachment of land belonging to US-based Kashmiri lobbyist Ghulam Nabi Fai, who has been convicted in the United States for acting as an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). NIA Special Judge Yahaya Firdous of Budgam district authorised the seizure of over 1.5 kanals, or about 8,100 square feet, of land located in two villages, Wadwan and Chattabugh.
The court directed the Budgam district collector to take possession of the property forthwith with the help of the revenue and police authorities. The order followed an application filed by Assistant Public Prosecutor Mohammad Iqbal Rather under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Fai, originally a resident of Budgam, was declared a “proclaimed absconder” by the court in April this year after he failed to respond to a 30-day notice asking him to appear before the police.
The case against him was registered in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). According to the prosecution, Fai is a known supporter of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami and is alleged to be a close associate of designated terrorist and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. He has been booked for providing support to a terrorist organisation in the country.
In its seven-page order, the court observed that it was satisfied from the record that the accused had “deliberately and intentionally concealed himself”. On December 7, 2011, Fai pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion. In March 2012, a US court sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud the United States by concealing funding received from Pakistan’s ISI for his illegal lobbying activities related to Kashmir.
