Pakistan's controversial cleric urges followers not to support Islamabad if war against India breaks out

"Can you see what is happening in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? The state is bombing its citizens," Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi told his followers.

'No Hands Raised'

According to reports, the video of Ghazi delivering the speech was recorded on May 2.

Referring to the claims of enforced disappearances as reported from different parts of Pakistan, Ghazi said: "Are people disappearing in India like they are in Pakistan?”

In a symbolic moment of defiance, Ghazi was seen asking people who were present in the hall where he was delivering his speech: "If India and Pakistan go to war, how many of you will support Pakistan?”

Clearly showing resistance to Pakistan's government and iron-fisted military, none of the people raised their hands.

Ghazi then commented: "It means many are enlightened now.”

In Pakistan's religious landscape, Lal Masjid has always held a controversial position.

The mosque was at the centre of an internal conflict in 2007.

Pakistani security forces had launched a military operation to dislodge armed students and radical clerics from the mosque.

The military eventually took control of the mosque, but the incident highlighted the growing internal conflict in Pakistani society.

Pahalgam Horror

The video came to light two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack occurred in Jammu and Kashmir when armed terrorists gunned down 26 people, mostly non-Muslim tourists, when they were travelling in Baisaran meadows on April 22.

Tension between India and Pakistan has further escalated following the attack.

During the spine-chilling April 22 attack, the terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision)  before gunning them down before their families, including wives, children and daughters.

The attack triggered widespread criticisms.

In an immediate response, India suspended the landmark Indus River water-sharing treaty and closed the Attari-Wagah road border, which acts as a lifeline of Indo-Pak trade and people-to-people ties, besides expelling diplomats, downsizing high commissions, and issuing a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani visa holders present in India to leave.