New Delhi: Firebrand Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leader and Chairman of a faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani has termed Pan-Islamic militant outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) as "friends" and said their actions are within the parameters of "humanity and morality".

In an interview to a Pakistani weekly "The Friday Times", Geelani said, "Lashkar and Jaish are our friends. They are our benefactors. They have been sacrificing their lives for us. And they have never acted in a manner that is against humanity or morality."

The answer came from Geelani in reply to a question whether non-Kashmiri militant outfits such as Lashkar and Jaish had hijacked the indigenous struggle of Kashmiris.

The statement of Geelani has raised eyebrows as it was just short of saying that the suicide attacks carried out by these militant outfits in which innocent women and children fell prey to their bullets were within the framework of "humanity and morality".

Taking a dig at the present Jamaat Chief Nazir Ahmed Kashani's announcement of retiring him from JeI, Geelani said, "The retirement philosophy is un-Islamic".

In reply to a question whether the split within Hurriyat was engineered by Pakistan, Geelani accused India of spreading this propaganda.

However, the weekly narrated the incidents on September 15, the day Geelani was chosen chairman of the breakaway faction. The election of Jamaat leader was the first news on the state-run Pakistan TV.

PTI