DTN News - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan 'Tried To Tilt US Policy On Kashmir'....NSI News Source Info # 2251(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 20, 2011: Pakistan has spent at least $4m since the mid-1990s lobbying the US Congress and the White House in a covert attempt to influence American policy on the disputed territory of Kashmir, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] affidavit filed in a US court.
FBI agents arrested Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, in Virginia on charges that he failed to register as an agent of a foreign government.
Zaheer Ahmad, 63, was also charged but is believed to be in Pakistan. Both are naturalised US citizens.
The arrest and allegations may further strain relations between Washington and Islamabad which have been fraught since US forces conducted a secret raid in Pakistan in May that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The FBI affidavit detailed the alleged scheme in which Fai's organisation, the Kashmir American Council [KAC], received up to $700,000 annually from Pakistan to make campaign contributions to US politicians, sponsor conferences and other promotions.
"Mr Fai is accused of a decades-long scheme with one purpose - to hide Pakistan's involvement behind his efforts to influence the US government's position on Kashmir," Neil MacBride, US Attorney for Eastern Virginia, said.
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