Pakistani Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan has sparked widespread controversy with inflammatory remarks claiming that the Pakistan Army will lay the first brick of a new Babri mosque in Ayodhya, India.
The statement, delivered during the 348th session of Pakistan’s Senate on April 29, 2025, has escalated already heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
She is a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and deputy information secretary, addressed the Senate with a fiery speech, declaring, “The first brick of the new Babri Mosque in Ayodhya would be laid by Pakistan Army soldiers, with the first Azaan delivered by Army Chief General Asim Munir. We are not wearing bangles.” The remarks, invoking the Babri mosque demolished in 1992, were part of a broader tirade laced with religious and militaristic rhetoric, further stoking communal sentiments.
The senator’s comments come at a time of deteriorating bilateral relations, triggered by the April 23 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where Lashkar-linked terrorists killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen.
India has responded with punitive measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing airspace to Pakistani flights, and downgrading diplomatic ties. Pakistan, in turn, has closed its airspace to Indian carriers and threatened to withdraw from the Shimla Agreement.
Khan’s speech also included controversial claims about Sikh soldiers in the Indian Army, asserting, “If they are threatening Pakistan, then let them know that the Sikh army will not attack Pakistan because it’s the land of Guru Nanak for them.”
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She further praised Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, saying, “I want to salute Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who courageously declared that no Indian soldier will be allowed to cross into Pakistan from Indian Punjab.”
Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan, representing Sindh in the Senate since March 2021, previously served in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013. As the niece of politician Fozia Behram, she has been a prominent figure in the PPP.
Her speech also included a vision of a “Pakistani Muslim government” in the Indian subcontinent, warning that “the Red Fort of Delhi, will witness a bloodshed that its walls have never seen” if India acts against Pakistan.
The international community has urged restraint, with the United States calling for de-escalation following the Pahalgam attack. Analysts warn that such provocative rhetoric risks further inflaming an already volatile situation, with cross-border ceasefire violations intensifying along the Line of Control.
