GUWAHATI: A Pakistani cleric, Abdul Aziz Ghazi of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, has recently criticised his country’s government, declaring in a viral video that any war with India would be “un-Islamic” and accusing the Pakistani state of being more oppressive than India.
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In the video, Abdul Aziz can be seen addressing a congregation and asking whether they would support Pakistan in the event of war with India. The silence from the crowd led him to comment, “There are very few [hands]. This means many are enlightened now. The matter is, war between Pakistan and India is not an Islamic war.”
He further condemned the Pakistani military and government, describing the ruling system as one of disbelief (kufr) and tyranny. “It is worse than that of India. There isn't as much oppression in India as there is in Pakistan,” he claimed.
Citing examples, Aziz referred to the siege of Lal Masjid in 2007 and military operations in Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, accusing the state of bombing its own people and causing disappearances of clerics, journalists, and political workers.
The video, reportedly recorded at Lal Masjid, was also shared by former Pakistan ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, who criticised Abdul Aziz for his remarks, intensifying the ongoing debate.
Lal Masjid, founded in 1965, has a history of radicalism and once enjoyed close ties with Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. Under the leadership of Abdul Aziz and his brother Abdul Rashid in the early 2000s, the mosque began openly challenging the government and advocating for the imposition of Sharia law. In 2007, it was the site of a violent military operation, Operation Sunrise, ordered by then-President Pervez Musharraf, which left over 150 dead.
