Pakistani Cleric Slams Shehbaz Sharif Govt, Says Conflict With India Not Islamic War

In a viral video, a cleric is seen criticising his own government in Pakistan. Abdul Aziz Ghazi, a religious figure from the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, has claimed that the conflict with India is not an Islamic war, Hindustan Times reported.

What's In The Viral Video?

Speaking at a congregation during Friday prayers at Lal Masjid, Aziz Ghazi asked, "If a war breaks out between Pakistan and India, how many of you will support Pakistan? Raise your hands." As there was silence and the crowd did not respond, he continued, "Very few hands are visible. That means a good level of awareness has developed. The issue is that the war between Pakistan and India is not an Islamic war."

He then slammed the Pakistan government and called it an oppressive government. He added: "Today, the system in Pakistan is a system of disbelief (kufr), a tyrannical system, worse than that of India. There isn't as much oppression in India as there is in Pakistan. Has there been a horrific incident like Lal Masjid in India?"

It comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan over the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Who Will Kill His Own Citizens?

He then blamed the Pakistan government for its own citizens as he questioned: "Have such atrocities occurred in India as they have in Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Have their fighter jets bombed their own people the way ours have? Are so many people reported missing in India? Here, people are exhausted from staging protests in search of their loved ones. Here, clerics are missing, journalists are missing, Tehreek-e-Insaf members are missing."

As the video went viral on social media, many are saying that Ghazi, once seen as a poster boy of the establishment, is now openly opposing the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government in Pakistan.

Lal Masjid: From Religious Landmark to Radical Stronghold

Built in 1965, Lal Masjid is known for the radicalisation of youths and pushing anti-India rhetoric. This ideological stance brought its leadership into close alignment with elements of Pakistan's intelligence and security establishment.

By 2006, Lal Masjid's leadership-brothers Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid-began to publicly defy the Pakistani state, using the mosque and its adjoining women's seminary, Jamia Hafsa, as a base for hardline activities.

The mosque emerged as a hub for radical Islamists, calling for the nationwide enforcement of Sharia law and denouncing the Pakistani government as corrupt and un-Islamic. The clerics advocated for the replacement of state institutions with a governance model rooted in their own interpretation of Islamic law.

By mid-2007, then-President Pervez Musharraf's administration deemed the growing militancy around Lal Masjid a serious threat to national security. The standoff culminated in Operation Sunrise in July 2007-a full-scale military operation aimed at neutralizing the insurgent activities centred at the mosque.