Pak army lambasts JI chief for declaring terrorists as 'martyrs'

Pakistan Army has lambasted the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief for declaring terrorists killed in the war against terror as 'martyrs', but denying the same honor for army soldiers killed in war with the Taliban.

The statement came as a reaction to Munawar Hassan's interview to a private television channel, in which he said that he considered Tehriek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan last Friday, a 'martyr', however, denied of recognizing army soldiers with the same title for sacrificing their lives fighting Taliban.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesmen condemned the controversial remarks by Munawar, calling it totally 'irresponsible and misleading' and asked him to clear the position of his party on the issue, the Daily Times reports.

According to the report, the bereaved families of martyred army personnel, who lost them in the terrorist attacks, demanded Munawar to apologize for his irresponsible statement.