The Netherlands were restricted to a paltry 9-91 at a windswept Optus Stadium in Perth.
In reply, Pakistan made light work of the run chase, with Mohammad Rizwan (49 off 39 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (20 off 16) powering them to victory in 13.5 overs.
The emphatic win was welcome news for Pakistan, who began their tournament with a pair of final-ball losses to India and Zimbabwe.
The only concern from Sunday's match for Pakistan was the continued poor form of Azam.
The 28-year-old made a duck and four in his first two games and was run out for four against the Netherlands.
Pakistan face a must-win match against South Africa at the SCG next Thursday, and Shadab Khan has full confidence his captain will soon hit his stride.
"He's a world-class player, we have no doubt about that," Khan said.
"But he's human also. Sometimes humans make a mistake.
"He's our leader, he's our best captain. He supports us, so we have to support him now.
"It's just three games. No one is worried about his form, because he's a world-class player.
"He's one shot away. The next game is a big game, so hopefully he scores for the team."
Pakistan's display with the ball against the Netherlands was simply ruthless.
Bas de Leede was left concussed and bloodied after being hit by a rising Haris Rauf delivery that was clocked at 142km/h.
The ball struck de Leede on the grille of the helmet, causing a cut on his cheek.
De Leede was bleeding as he was assisted off the ground, and was later subbed out with concussion for Logan Van Beek.
"It's cut his cheek open a bit. It seems to be OK, but we'll be monitoring him," Netherlands wicketkeeper Scott Edwards said.
"Hopefully he will be good to go for the next game.
"Guys get hit in the head all the time. It's not ideal, it's not good that it got through and cut him.
"But playing professional cricket, you're always going to come up against guys who bowl fast."
The incident summed up the Netherlands' batting struggles.
Naseem Shah was superb with figures of 1-11 from four overs, while Rauf (1-10 off three) and Mohammad Wasim (2-15) were also influential.
Spinner Shadab Khan cashed in with 3-22.
The Netherlands crawled to 1-19 from their six-over Powerplay and were on a forlorn 3-34 after 10 overs.
Colin Ackermann (27 off 27 balls) was the only batter to show any semblance of fluency in a poor effort from his side.
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