WASHINGTON, March 30:A U.S.-based Kashmiri activist,Syed Fai, has been sentenced to two years in prison for concealing his links to Pakistan’s spy agency while he lobbied members of Congress.

Syed Fai, 62, of Fairfax, Va., was the longtime executive director of the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council. He was sentenced Friday in federal court in Alexandria.

Last year he pleaded guilty to using a network of straw donors to hide the fact that Pakistan had provided him with $3.5 million in funding. He knew such a disclosure would harm his credibility as a supposed independent advocate for Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.

Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison term. The defense had sought probation.

Fai said after the hearing that he considers his sacrifice worthwhile for the cause of Kashmiri independence.