Mirwaiz Umer Farooq controlled by the ISI: US Attorney

Separatist leader and chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is ''supported and controlled'' by Pakistan's ISI, a US District court was informed by an Attorney.

Ahead of sentencing of Ghulam Nabi Fai, who has pleaded guilty to charges of receiving money from ISI after his arrest last year, US Attorney Neil H MacBride said "Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was supported and controlled by the ISI."

MacBride informed the court Wednesday in a footnote of the 10-page submission to US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Efforts to seek reaction from the Mirwaiz, who arrived in Delhi from Jeddah, did not succeed.

MacBride said Fai has submitted as many as 53 individuals from Pakistan, India and the US in his support – all of whom urge the District Judge Liam O'Grady to give the Kashmiri separatist a lighter sentence.

In the footnote, the US Attorney said many writers of the letters submitted by Fai to the Court on his behalf failed to disclose facts the disclosure of which might undermine their credibility before this Court.

"For example -- and this is just a sampling from the first ones listed -- Farhan Chak is a 9/11 Truther. Arif Kamal was copied on at least 26 emails to Fai from the ISI," the footnote said.

"Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was supported and controlled by the ISI. Attiya Inayatullah was invited to KAC conferences by Fai at the ISI’s direction. Gautam Navlakha was introduced to an ISI general for recruitment by Fai at the ISI’s direction," MacBride wrote.

Navlakha is a civil rights activist in India.
Prominent among those who wrote a letter in support of Fai to the US District Judge seeking leniency were Rajmohan Gandhi, Ved Bhasin, Karen Parker, Zaffer A Shah, Zahid G Muhammad and Hamida Bano.

Seeking leniency from the court, the Mirwaiz, in his undated letter, represents himself as the religious head of the State.

He said he knew Fai for over two decades and he had an opportunity to meet with him large number of officials from the State Department, Senators and Congressmen.