Islamabad: Hardline Pakistani leaders and Kashmiri militants have hit out at the Government for pushing the "core" issue of Kashmir to the "sidelines" and warned that prolonging the imbroglio could lead to another conflict between the two countries.

Though there was a broad welcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf, the hardliners underlined the need for inclusion of Kashmir in the dialogue process.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Sardar Qayyum said that sidelining Kashmir or making cultural agreements could not reduce tension between India and Pakistan and warned that if was not addressed and resolved quickly, the situation could result in an Indo-Pak war.

Qayyum also said that the Line of Control (LoC) could not be accepted as permanent border.

"Unnecessary hopes were being attached to the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit and one should not ignore ground realities," he said in an interview to Urdu daily 'Nawai Waqt'.

Hizbul Mujahideen chief and chairman of the Muttahida Jehad Council Syed Salahuddin hit out at the SAARC forum, saying that it had been ignoring ground realities and making attempts to create "unrealistic conducive atmosphere through cosmetic measures".