Pakistan's foremost orthopedic surgeon, Amer Aziz, once treated al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and for years has provided medical aid to other Islamic hard-liners.

Now the 49-year-old physician works alongside one of Pakistan's most prominent extremist groups to assist survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed 86,000 people in the nation. For Aziz, known for his free treatment of the poor, it's the most expedient way to reach the sick and wounded in this isolated region. But there's a rub.

Many of these extremist organizations, which have been deemed terrorist groups by both the United States and Pakistan, have fashioned an uneasy truce with U.S. soldiers ferrying relief supplies to the 3.2 million people left homeless by the quake. And Aziz has had some unpleasant experiences with U.S. authorities: CIA and FBI operatives in 2002 detained him for a month to interrogate him about al-Qaida.

In the city of Muzaffarabad, Aziz manages a field hospital run by Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The group has connections to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Muslim militant group fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir. Taiba has been linked by U.S. authorities to al-Qaida. Pakistan banned the organization in 2002.

At a relief camp packed with tents stamped with Dawa's name, Aziz and his staff try to ignore the aid-ferrying U.S. helicopters flying overhead.

"I don't trust Americans -not after what I went through,"Aziz said. "But I am not doing anything wrong, so I don't care if their Army is here. They do their bit, I do mine."

Aziz established a rotating team of surgeons at this Dawa camp shortly after the quake. He has also treated for free 80 victims of spinal cord injuries at his Lahore hospital.

"The world has seen that these bearded people have done good work, that we are not such monsters after all," said Aziz. "The reality is these people are the best workers."

Although he says he does not advocate violence, Aziz is one of Pakistan's staunchest critics of the United States. In an interview in his Lahore office, the British-trained doctor discussed his meetings with bin Laden, his detainment and the humanitarian efforts of religious extremists.

Aziz, who says he is not a member of any political party, has been aiding the region's militant groups since 1989.

"I believe in Islam. I am proud of it, and I am not apologizing for it," he said. "But I don't judge people on the basis of my beliefs, and I don't advocate killing innocent people."

He has no regrets for treating bin Laden, who is thought to be hiding between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On a visit to an Afghan hospital in 1999, Aziz stayed at a Taliban guesthouse where bin Laden was brought to see him.

"They just told me they wanted to bring me a patient. He had fallen off a horse," Aziz said. "I was assisting the Taliban government at the time. It was nothing secret. I was not on their payroll. It was purely a humanitarian effort."

He said he examined bin Laden for 10 minutes, treating him only for back pain. "He was very humble, very soft-spoken,"Aziz said.

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