Srinagar: A special NIA court in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday ordered immediate attachment of land belonging to Ghulam Nabi Fai, a US-based Kashmiri lobbyist and convicted agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Judge Yahaya Firdous of Budgam district authorised the seizure of over 1.5 kanals (approximately 8,100 sq. ft.) of land across two villages — Wadwan and Chattabugh.
The court directed the Budgam district collector to take possession of the property “forthwith” with the assistance of revenue and police authorities.
Later in the day, Budgam police attached Fai’s property.
The court’s decision follows an application by Assistant Public Prosecutor Mohammad Iqbal Rather under Section 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code (now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita).
Originally a resident of Budgam, Fai was declared a “proclaimed absconder” by the court in April this year after he failed to respond to a 30-day notice to appear before police. The case against him was registered in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Fai, a known supporter of banned Jamaat-e-Islami and alleged to be a close associate of designated terrorist and chief of Hizbul Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin, has been booked for giving support to a terrorist organisation in the country.
“This court is satisfied from the record that the accused… has deliberately and intentionally concealed himself,” the judge said in the seven-page order.
The prosecution argued that the attachment was urgent as Fai’s relatives currently in possession of the land were likely to sell it, which would defeat the legal process.
“… this court directs collector Budgam to attach the immovable property of land measuring one kanal and two marlas under Khewat No 60, survey No 466 in village Wadwan and land measuring 11 marlas under Khewat No 136, Survey No 343 situated at village Chattabugh (belonging to Fai) and take possession forthwith,” the court said.
The Budgam district collector has been instructed to use revenue authorities to identify and demarcate the properties before formal attachment, with the Senior Superintendent of Police providing necessary security for the operation.
Fai, 76, has a long history of legal trouble in both India and the United States. He rose to prominence as the director of the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC), which he claimed was an independent grassroots organisation to highlight the so-called “oppression of people of Kashmir”.
He was arrested by the FBI in 2011 after an investigation showed that the KAC was a “front” for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. The US authorities proved that for over 20 years, Fai funnelled at least USD 3.5 million from the ISI into the US to influence American policy on Kashmir.
In 2012, Fai was sentenced to two years in prison by a Virginia federal court for conspiracy and tax violations. At the time, US Attorney Neil MacBride noted that Fai had “lied to the Justice Department, the IRS, and many political leaders” while pushing ISI propaganda. After his release, he was kept under supervision for three years.
During his US trial, federal prosecutors said that Fai had lied about holding a doctorate degree, a title he used for decades to bolster his credibility in political circles.
“Fai has no doctorate degree,” US Attorney MacBride informed the court in 2011, noting that his false representation unfairly diluted the respect earned by actual scholars.
