LAHORE, Jan 5: Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani on Saturday urged the government to demand all those Indian leaders and soldiers who had killed over 100,000 Kashmiri Muslims during the past 53 years in response to New Delhi’s list of 20 people whom it wanted from Islamabad.

Talking to reporters and his party workers on his arrival here at the airport, the JUP president and United Front chairman said jihad against India had become obligatory on Pakistan. Its announcement was the need of the hour and a religious obligation but the rulers did not want to annoy the world powers.

The Maulana said Pakistan had not made its nuclear devices to keep them in shelves and if required it should not hesitate to use them.

He said though Pakistani leaders had adopted a positive posture against Indian leaders during the Saarc summit, it was required to avoid the handshake and exchange of smiles. This was so because non-Muslims could not be “our friends” and there was no difference between all religious parties in Pakistan over this point.

Maulana Noorani said all religious leaders were behind the army during any aggression by India.

He said the indiscriminate arrests of the leaders and workers of religious parties would harm the jihad cause. But confining the jihadi outfits to Azad Kashmir was a correct decision by the government as it was an establishment base camp of the Kashmir freedom movement.

The Maulana said despite differences the entire nation stood like a rock against the Indian aggression. “Islam teaches peace and not aggression but seeking peace during aggression was cowardice.”

He said the Indian premier, home and foreign ministers belonged to extremist Hindu parties. The construction of Ram Mandir and the slogan of Akhand Bharat were the result of this extremism but all imperialist forces, including America, were not putting the extremist label on them. They were the enemies of Islam but the world Muslims would foil all designs of India.

Earlier, Maulana Noorani said, the United Front of the six mainstream religious parties would be expanded but this would be done after the completion of the homework which included constitution of the alliance’s manifesto and the parliamentary board.

He took exception to the statements by some leaders of the TJP regarding the aspect of the alliance.

He said it was a political and electoral alliance.

The Maulana said the Pak-Afghan Defence Council wanted to unite the people at this critical moment. And for that purpose it would start a series of public meetings from Jan 18.