A Kashmiri religious leader has condemned the atrocities in America and backed the war on terrorism in a speech to hundreds of Muslims in Bradford.

Peer Mohammed Attiq-ul-Rehman Faizpuri was elected to the Kashmir assembly in July and came back to his home town to address community leaders on pressing world issues.

At a speech in The Islamic Cultural Centre and Mosque, on Barkerend Road, Peer Mohammed Attiq-ul-Rehman Faizpuri said: "We condemn the atrocities of September 11 and we offer our full support for what America is doing now. Terrorism wherever it takes place we condemn.

"At the same time we urge the United Nations not to forget the Kashmir crisis. We want peace and harmony and a resolution to the foreign issue."

Chairman of the All Parties Kashmir Freedom Council, Raja Najabat Hussain, said: "Our religious leader from Kashmir asked the Muslim community to be calm and have patience and be part of the local society and hold onto their religious belief and teachings of Islam.''