In a moment that has gone viral and stunned observers, Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, the controversial cleric of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, was met with complete silence when he posed a pointed question to his followers: “If Pakistan fights against India, how many of you would support Pakistan and fight for it?” Not a single hand was raised.
This dramatic sight, which was recorded on camera on May 2 at Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, follows hard on the heels of the catastrophic April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 dead. The attack has pushed India-Pakistan relations further to the edge, with speculation of a possible Indian retaliation looming large.
Although India has not yet launched a military attack, the mood in Pakistan already shows a sense of fear. The implicit sense of fear, even in places like Lal Masjid, attests to how much Pakistanis understand the repercussions of their country’s growing isolation and internal destabilization. The silence from Ghazi’s audience, many of whom are students trained in ideological rigidity, is symbolic of a nation increasingly reluctant to stand behind a state whose policies many see as failing.
Maulana Ghazi, once a vocal advocate of jihad, appeared almost resigned as he interpreted the silence: “This means there is enough understanding.” He did not stop there. Criticizing Pakistan’s leadership, Ghazi declared, “Today, Pakistan has a system of disbelief – a cruel, useless system. It is worse than India.”
He went on to condemn the Pakistani military and state apparatus, accusing them of targeting their own citizens in regions like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“What happened in Balochistan, what they did across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – these are atrocities. When the people were ready, the state bombed its own citizens.”
The video has ignited debate across Pakistani social media, with many expressing shocks at the cleric’s candid condemnation and the audience’s silence. Analysts say this is not just an isolated incident but a clear sign of deepening fractures within Pakistan’s ideological and political core.
That such a reaction took place in Lal Masjid—a site long associated with radicalism —underscores a larger shift. The Pakistani public, including its conservative and religious segments, seems increasingly unwilling to support conflict with India, especially when fear of reprisal and disillusionment with their own government run high.
As Islamabad reels from diplomatic pressure and contemplates possible escalation, the internal dissent and visible fear show that Pakistan’s biggest crisis may be within its own borders—long before any external confrontation begins.
