LAHORE, Feb 5: Senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Gilani said on Thursday Kashmir was the core issue in India-Pakistan relations.

In his telephone address to the Kashmir Solidarity Conference at Masjid-i-Shohada on The Mall, Mr Gilani said India and Pakistan fought three wars on Kashmir and developed nuclear weapons because of a tension on the disputed territory.

He said the US and the West called for resolution of the dispute through talks, but India delayed the resolution of the dispute on different pretexts.

Mr Gilani said Kashmiris had not lost the courage even after sacrificing more than 100,000 lives over the last few years. He said Pakistan should bring Indian atrocities against the Muslims to the notice of the world. He said the UN had double standard on Palestine and Kashmir. The UN Security Council promptly called for a ban on Jamatud Dawa after the Mumbai attacks, but kept its eyes closed to the Indian brutalities in Kashmir and Israeli genocide of Palestinians.

Jammu Kashmir People’s League leader Sardar Khalid Ibrahim said the Kashmiris were determined to continue their struggle till freedom. He said the friends of India could not be the friends of Kashmiris. He praised Jamatud Dawa for its relief work in Kashmir after the earthquake.

Jamatud Dawa acting chief Hafiz Abdul Salam bin Muhammad said world powers were trying to suppress Muslims by declaring them terrorists. He said Jamatud Dawa would continue Kashmiris’ support without caring for Pakistani rulers’ support for the suppressed nation.

Jamatud Dawa representative Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki said peace was not possible in the region without resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He said the ban on Jamatud Dawa would not help put the Kashmir issue on the backburner.

Jamiat Ahle Hadith leader Maulana Naeem Badshah said the UN claimed to champion the cause of human rights but continued to ignore the Indian and Israeli atrocities in Kashmir and Palestine.

Khaksar Tehreek leader Hameeduddin Al-Mashriqi said the rulers should stop the bloodshed in tribal areas and support the freedom struggle of Kashmiris.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) leader Maulana Saifuddin Saif said enemies of Islam had joined hands and were trying to suppress Muslims by declaring them terrorists.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Amjad Khan called for an end to the ban on Jamatud Dawa and the house arrest of its chief Hafiz Saeed.