 Sandeep Bhat
Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 23: An NIA court in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district has ordered the attachment of immovable property belonging to US-based Kashmiri separatist Ghulam Nabi Shah alias Dr Fai under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), nearly eight months after he was declared a proclaimed offender in a terror-related case.
As per the court order, the District Collector, Budgam, has been directed to take immediate possession of Dr Fai’s land located in Wadwan and Chattabugh villages, while the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Budgam, has been asked to provide necessary assistance for executing the order.
The attachment has been ordered in connection with FIR No. 46 of 2020, registered at Police Station Budgam under Sections 10, 13 and 39 of the UAPA. The court took the step after the accused repeatedly failed to appear before the investigating agency despite the issuance of proclamation notices and arrest warrants.
Dr Fai was declared a proclaimed offender on April 26 this year by the Special Judge, NIA Court, Budgam, after he failed to surrender before the Jammu and Kashmir Police within the stipulated 30-day period. A native of Wadwan village in Budgam, he is currently residi The District Collector, Budgam, has been directed to take immediate possession of Fai’s land located in Wadwan and Chattabugh villages,
The SSP Budgam, has been asked to provide necessary assistance for executing the order.
The court took the step after the accused repeatedly failed to appear before the investigating agency.
Fai, a native of Wadwan village in Budgam, is currently residing in the United States, where he is accused of evading arrest and obstructing the legal process.
Ghulam Nabi Fai is the founder of the Washington-based Kashmir American Council (KAC), which investigating agencies say is backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and has been used to propagate Pakistan’s narrative on Kashmir at international platforms. He migrated to the US in the early 1980s for higher studies and became a US citizen in 1990.
Police records indicate that the case against him pertains to offences related to membership of an unlawful association, involvement in unlawful activities, and providing support to a terrorist organisation. The 77-year-old separatist also serves as the Secretary General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum and Chairman of the World Forum for Peace & Justice.
Meanwhile, on November 10, Budgam Police carried out multiple search operations at locations linked to Dr Fai’s associates as part of a broader crackdown aimed at dismantling separatist networks and Pakistan-backed terror ecosystems in the region. Officials said the action was intended to disrupt the financial, logistical, and ideological support extended by the accused to anti-national activities in Jammu and Kashmir. |
