Cops quiz Hurriyat leader Geelani on visa recommendation to terror suspect

LeT man,arrested in foiled Delhi terror plot,had Geelani recommendation in his possession.

Delhi Police today recorded the statement of pro-Pakistan hardliner Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani in connection with allegations that he had given a recommendation letter to arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant Ahtesham Malik for getting a Pakistani visa.

82-year-old Geelani,whose recommendation letter’s xerox copy was recovered from the belongings of Malik,arrived at the Special Cell at Lodhi Road along with his son-in-law Altaf Fantoosh and close aide Shafi Reshi,official sources said.

Geelani,who had set the pro-Pakistan and hardline tone in Jamaat-e-Islami,was shown the papers and asked about his relation with Malik. He was also asked who had introduced the Lashkar terrorist to him,they said.

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According to investigators,the 24-year-old Malik went to Pakistan in December last year to receive training on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

A laboratory technician,Malik was earlier associated with Lashkar in Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir and was arrested in 2007 along with two others.

Geelani’s spokesperson,Ayaz Akbar,had Geelani recommends Kashmiris for a Pakistan visa ”because they are Kashmiris”. ”How can Geelani sahab know the motives behind the Pakistan visit?”

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