New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) India Saturday said it was in touch with the US over the arrest of Kashmiri American Ghulam Nabi Fai, a suspected Pakistani agent involved in illegal lobbying, and hoped it will lead to exposing similar Pakistan linked separatists operating from London and Brussels.


The Indian embassy is in touch with the US authorities, a government source said here when asked whether the US has brought up the issue of Fai's activities, suspected to be funded by Pakistan's spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, was arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for having received millions of dollars from the ISI to lobby the Congress and the White House, and funnel the contributions to Republicans and Democrats and influence their Kashmir opinion in favour of Pakistan.

An informant told the Washington Post that Fai's Kashmir American Council (KAC) was created "to propagandize on behalf of the government of Pakistan with the goal of uniting Kashmir".

Sources in Delhi disclosed that India had known about Fai's activities for a long time and that the council he headed received substantial funding from Pakistan. They hoped that it will expose the link "between Pakistani state agencies and those espousing militancy and separatism".

"There are, of course, people like him in London and Brussels. The focus and attention will be paid to the activities of these groups," said a source. "It's going to become increasingly difficult for such groups to operate now."

Describing Fai's arrest as "an enormously important development", the sources said India hoped that the whole issue of funding of such organisations will now be investigated.

"For the first time, the net is closing in on them. And that's a good thing," said a source.

Sources, however, added that the Fai row will not affect the upcoming talks between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers here July 27.