MUZAFFARABAD, May 1: A religious leader has described criticism of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan's tour to New Delhi and his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as unjustified and said the veteran leader's move had broken the ice in an atmosphere gripped by years of mistrust and hostilities.

"We fully back the efforts by Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan for a peacefully negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue and in our view criticism of his tour (to India) and meeting with Dr Singh is unwarranted," said Maulana Shahabuddin Madni, Amir of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JAH), Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

"Given a long history of mistrust and hostilities, there is a dire need of establishing direct contacts and holding meetings between people of different shades on both sides," he told a news conference here on Tuesday.

The Jamiat was a staunch supporter of the armed struggle in occupied Kashmir but the change of heart was not surprising because it follows the line of the ruling Muslim Conference for being its allied party.

"We support President Gen Pervez Musharraf's peace process. It has led India to hold talks on Kashmir which it had long been falsely describing as its atoot ang (integral part) and has thus opened an avenue towards its peaceful settlement," Maulana Madni said.

He claimed that people inside the held valley also supported dialogue.

"Why to use Kalashnikovs for what could be achieved through talks," he said.

In this regard, Maulana Madni also quoted an injunction from the Holy Quran that believers should hold talks if the enemy is willing for the same.