Firebrand Jamaat-e-Islami leader and chairman of a faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani has termed pan-Islamic militant outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba as ‘‘friends’’ and said their actions are within the parameters of ‘‘humanity and morality’’. In an interview to 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.’’ Geelani was replying to a question on whether non-Kashmiri militant outfits such as Lashkar and Jaish had hijacked the indigenous struggle of Kashmiris.
