Back-door bribery from Pakistan and the ISI

Kashmir is long disputed between Pakistan and India with both sides giving not one inch in their demands.  Both sides have done their share of less than scrupulous things in pursuit of dominance, but for Pakistan to play this game, and use tactics similar to our methods during the cold war shows again that they cannot be trusted and are not a friend of the West.

From the BBC July 21

Pakistan accuses US of slander over 'agent' arrest

 

Ghulam Nabi Fai was charged with failing to register as a foreign government agent

Pakistan has accused the US of slander against Islamabad over the arrest of a Kashmiri-born man accused of acting as a Pakistani agent in Washington.

Ghulam Nabi Fai, a 62-year-old American citizen, is accused of working in Washington for a Pakistani spy agency to lobby for Kashmiri independence.

Mr Fai was arrested on Tuesday and charged with failing to register as a foreign government agent.

Meanwhile, Congress rejected a proposal on Thursday to cut off aid to Pakistan.

Mr Fai and a second man, Zaheer Ahmad, a 63-year-old US citizen and resident of Pakistan, were both charged in the case. Mr Ahmad is believed to be in Pakistan.

The pair are suspected of having connections to an effort by the Pakistani government that allegedly funnelled millions of dollars through a front group, the Kashmiri American Council, to Washington to lobby US politicians on behalf of Kashmir.

The US has said the group contributed money to US election campaigns, helped fund conferences and other efforts, including meetings with White House and state department officials.

The US justice department said Mr Fai - who denies the charges - and Mr Ahmad would face five years in prison if found guilty.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the territory of Kashmir, which was split in two in 1947 and has been claimed by both nations.

Analysts say Mr Fai's arrest is likely to worsen already strained relations between Washington and Islamabad.

The killing in Pakistan of Osama Bin Laden by US forces in May angered many in Pakistan, and left US officials questioning whether Pakistani intelligence had known about the al-Qaeda leader's whereabouts.

'Slander campaign'

The allegations against Mr Fai focused primarily on his work with the Kashmiri American Council, a Washington-based group that is suspected of being run by Pakistan's military intelligence service.

There is more, read it all