Budgam: A special NIA court 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).
According to the details available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) the attachment of immovable property was ordered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Judge Yahaya Firdous of Budgam district authorised the seizure of over 1.5 kanals of land across two villages — Wadwan and Chattabugh.
The NIA Court directed the District Collector Budgam to take immediate possession of the Fai’s land and asked the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Budgam to provide necessary assistance to ensure the execution of the order.
The attachment was ordered in FIR No. 46/2020 registered at Police Station Budgam under Sections 10, 13 and 39 of the UAPA. The order was passed after the accused failed to appear before the investigating agency despite the issuance of a proclamation notice.
The court noted that Fai was declared a proclaimed absconder on April 26, 2025, for deliberately evading the legal process and avoiding arrest.
The prosecution, through the investigating officer, had moved an application seeking attachment of the accused’s property under Section 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code, now Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, citing the accused had concealed himself.
“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.
Background
The case against Fai, originally a resident of Budgam, 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.
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 of Kashmiri people.
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—(KNO)
