He was active in the Zazai District of Paktia Province, engaging in combat against Soviet forces. Aziz has asserted that he met the future Taliban founder Mullah Omar during the war.[20] According to journalist Declan Walsh, Aziz briefly persuaded his brother to join him in the conflict. However, his brother was motivated primarily by a sense of adventure rather than religious ideology and departed after only a few days.[22]
Although most administrative duties of the seminaries were largely overseen by his younger brother, Abdul Rashid.[29] as Aziz was more interested in political activities, and would constantly issue fatwas on various public affairs.[11]
2004 Fatwa
In 2004, Aziz who was then serving as BPS 9 government employee issued a "fatwa" (religious decree) against the army officers who were fighting against the Taliban during the Battle of Wanna in the tribal areas close to the Afghan border. In the fatwa he declared that none of the army officers who were killed in the fighting in tribal area were martyrs and religious sanctions were not available for their funeral.[30]
In 2007, Aziz launched an anti-vice and Shari'a campaign alongside his wife Umme Hassan by occupying a nearby library and embarking on vigilante raids through the city to stop what he called "un-Islamic activities," such as film vendors, barber shops and a Chinese-run massage parlor that he accused of being a brothel.[32][33]
He warned the government of attacks in the case of a violent police operation launched against him. "If the government fails to eradicate all these moral evils from the society within the specified period of one month they (students) would themselves take actions against all the people involved in such activities," said Abdul Aziz while addressing Friday Prayer congregation.[34] Aziz also issued a fatwa against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar, demanding the government dismiss her from the cabinet. The fatwa was a response to a photograph of Bakhtiar with paragliders in Paris, which Aziz deemed "obscene."[35][36][37][38]
On 3 July 2007, the standoff with the government ended in bloody gun battles in which some publications claim that more than 1,000 students were killed and scores wounded.[39] The official death toll is much lower, at fewer than 300.[40] During the siege, his son, Hassan Ghazi, was among those killed. He was a student at the Red Mosque.[41]
Arrest
On 4 July 2007 at 8:05a.m., Aziz was arrested while leaving the complex disguised in a burqa.[42] Aziz claims the reason for his cross-dressing escape was that he was called by a senior official of an intelligence agency with whom he has been in touch for a long time and since this man could not enter into the mosque to meet him, he asked Aziz to come down to Aabpara police station, situated on a walking distance from the mosque and asked him to wear a burqa to avoid identification.[43][44]
Aziz admitted that he had done this many times before when he was declared wanted by the government.[45]
Following his arrest, he was initially held in prison for two months before being transferred to a secure residence near Simly Dam, which had been designated a sub-jail.[46][47]
Aziz was released on 16 April 2009 by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as he awaited trial on alleged charges of murder, incitement, and kidnapping. He was greeted by throngs of supporters.[7] During the proceedings, Aziz was represented by his lawyer, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.[51][52][53]
Since 2001, 27 different cases have been filed unsuccessfully against him.[54][8]
In 2011, He was a signatory to an agreement between the Islamabad Administration and the management of Lal Masjid. The agreement allocated 20 kanals of land in Islamabad's Sector H-11 for the construction of Jamia Hafsa, as compensation for its previous madrassa building, which had been demolished in 2007.[57]
In 2014, During peace talks between Taliban and Pakistani government, The Taliban nominated a five person team as part of their peace talks committee consisting of Aziz alongside Imran Khan, Samiul Haq and Mufti Kifayatullah.[58][59][60] Aziz later withdrew from the committee and refused to attend future meetings with negotiators.[61][62]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Aziz kept the Lal Masjid open and refused to comply with lockdown orders, stating, “Lockdowns are not the answer to these problems. We should have faith in God at this time and place their hope in Him. If death is written for you, then it will come”.[65][66]
In January 2024, Aziz led the funeral prayers for Masoodur Rehman Usmani, the leader of the Sunni Ulema Council. During his address, he said: “The system will never protect you, its in the holy scripture that we have to defend ourselves.”.[67]
In 2025, Aziz alongside leaders from various religious groups, organized protests following the demolition of the Madni Masjid, located on a greenbelt near Rawal Lake by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). During a speech, Aziz threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement against the government in response to the demolition.[70][71]
Books
اللہ کی عظیم نعمت (Allah ki Azeem Naimat – The Great Blessing of Allah), 2010.[72][73]
اسلامی نظام کا مجوزہ خاکہ (Islami Nizam ka Mujawwiza Khaka – A Proposed Blueprint of the Islamic System), 2007.[74][15]
↑ Qandeel Siddique, The Red Mosque Operation and Its Impact On the Growth of the Pakistani Taliban, report for Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), p. 13. Link.
1 2 3 Zafar Imran, "The Religious Godfather of the Punjabi Taliban: Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi", in Militant Leadership Monitor – Jamestown, volume I, issue 5 (27 May 2010), pp. 3–4
1 2 Khan, Zia (15 August 2010). "Crimson tide". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
↑ Ghazi, Abdul Aziz (2006). Islami Nizam ka Mujawwiza Khaka (اسلامی نظام کا مجوزہ خاکہ)[A Proposed Blueprint of the Islamic System] (in Urdu). Lal Masjid Publications.
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