Pakistani soldiers on patrol. Pakistani soldiers on patrol. Photo: Reuters
A ''DECADES-LONG'' operation by Pakistan's spy agency to influence US policy on Kashmir was aided by American citizens who funnelled money to members of Congress and illegally hid their foreign connections, US prosecutors say.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, and Zaheer Ahmad, 63, were charged this week in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lying to federal agents.
Prosecutors said the two moved about $US4 million ($A3.75 million) from Pakistan's government through the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council to sway US legislators with campaign contributions and other lobbying activities.
The council, headed by Fai, is ''actually run'' by elements of the Pakistani government, including Pakistan's military intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, or ISI, the Justice Department said in a statement.
The pair failed to disclose their affiliation with Pakistan's government as required by law, and Fai gave false answers in 2007 when asked by the FBI about the links, the government charged.
In an interview with FBI agents at his home on March 3, Fai ''implied that he had no relationship with anyone in the government of Pakistan,'' Sarah Webb Linden, an FBI special agent, said in an affidavit.
A search of Fai's home, office and a storage facility turned up documents detailing the council's Washington strategies, including budget requirements for contributions to members of Congress and trips to Kashmir for legislators, money for opinion pieces distributed to the media, as well as money for seminars and conferences. One document allegedly called for $US100,000 for contributions to members of Congress in 2009.
The council's goal is to build support for Pakistani interests in Kashmir and offset lobbying by India over the disputed territory, the US said in court papers.
The case against Fai and Ahmad originated with information provided to the FBI from a witness in 2005. The informant, who was trying to have his jail sentence reduced, told investigators that Pakistan's spy agency was using the Kashmiri American Council to further the interests of the government of Pakistan. BLOOMBERG