Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday wondered how senior journalists like Kuldip Nayar and Dilip Padgaonkar, who attended conferences organised by Kashmiri American lobbyist Ghulam Nabi Fai, were not aware of the alleged Pakistani agent’s antecedents.

“We are not surprised (about Fai’s links). He was identified as an anti-India person who helped create support structure for separatists. Kuldip Nayar and Dileep Padgaonkar are senior journalists. How did they not know,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told mediapersons.

He said Fai, along with a US citizen, had been found guilty of using funds from Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and action had been taken against him.

Fai, director of the Washington-based advocacy group Kashmir American Council (KAC), was arrested in the US Tuesday on charges of participating in the conspiracy to act as an agent of the Pakistani government without disclosing his affiliation.

Javadekar said that presenting one’s views at seminars organised by such advocacy groups can still be understood, but “accepting their hospitality was a big matter”.

“People want to know how they (Padgaonkar and Nayar) did not see what was visible to everyone else,” the spokesperson said.

KAC is best known for organising an annual Kashmir peace conference for which Fai invited participants — separatist leaders, activists, academicians, journalists — from India and Pakistan.

Padgaonkar, who heads the government appointed panel of interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, had attended a conference in 2005. He said he had “no idea” about Fai’s background.

Nayar said he had attended a conference long time back. He said he “never suspected Fai, otherwise a rich man, to be an ISI spy”.