Islamabad, 27 September 2022 (TDI):  The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Pakistan hosted a “Memorial Day” to honor the martyrs of the patriotic war.

The event is commemorated globally to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the motherland in the 2020 war.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Khazar Farhadov said that this memorial day was a sign of the deep respect for Azerbaijani soldiers, officers, and martyrs, who fought the Patriotic war, waved the Azerbaijani flag and liberated the land by sacrificing their lives for the territorial integrity of the motherland Azerbaijan.

Explaining aggression from Armenia, Ambassador said that Armenia had kept Azerbaijan’s territories under occupation illegally for 30 years. During these years, Armenia always committed provocations against Azerbaijan.

He further elaborated that on September 27, 2020, a counter-offensive was launched two years back in response to Armenia’s yet another large-scale military attack on Azerbaijani Army positions and civilian settlements. The counter-offensive became known as Operation Iron Fist, leading to the Patriotic War.

At the end of the 44-day Patriotic War, under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, President Ilham Aliyev, Khazar said, “our army liberated Azerbaijan’s territories from Armenian occupation, and Armenia was forced to sign an act of capitulation, thus acknowledging Azerbaijan’s historic victory.”

Azerbaijan
A photo exhibition and press conference dedicated to the memory of the Martyrs of the Patriotic War were held at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Pakistan.

While highlighting the important relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the ambassador said that Azerbaijan always values Pakistan’s support for the Karabakh conflict and how the Patriotic War in 2020 morally and politically supported the just position of Azerbaijan and the Government and Azerbaijani people highly appreciated it.”

Explaining the details of the war, he said the Patriotic War ended Armenia’s nearly 30-year-long policy of aggression. Azerbaijan ensured its territorial integrity, and the fundamental rights of nearly one million displaced Azerbaijanis were restored. Azerbaijan alone ensured the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions of 1993.

Right after the liberation, Azerbaijan started massive reconstruction and restoration works in the liberated areas. In 2021 and 2022, the Azerbaijani Government allocated nearly $3 billion to the large-scale reconstruction and restoration activities in the liberated lands.

“I would like to inform you that Fuzuli International Airport, built in 8 months, is operational now. Two more international airports, namely Zangilan and Lachin, are under construction, and they will also be operational very soon,” he added.

Ambassador shared that the first Azerbaijani IDP had already returned to the liberated Zangilan region’s Aghali village, which was rebuilt based on the “smart village” concept.

Shusha, Azerbaijan’s cultural capital, has already become a venue for international events. “Pakistan Colors” group performed the “Bhangra” dance at the 5th “Kharibulbul” International Folklore Festival, which was held in Shusha in May 2022.

The ambassador stated that Azerbaijan offered Armenia peace immediately after the war. However, Armenia was not interested in peace. The Azerbaijani side proposes delimitation and demarcation, but Armenia delays it.

Ambassador further explained that in recent months, Armenia had committed military probation against Azerbaijan, and 1,400 new landmines were planted in the Lachin district alone. These mines were planted in 2021, after the war. Since the war ended, more than 240 Azerbaijani citizens have been killed or seriously injured due to landmine explosions.

Armenian armed forces committed large-scale provocations in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin directions of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border on September 13.

Finally, Ambassador said that the Armenian armed forces’ sabotage groups, using the area’s mountainous terrain and the existing ravine gaps, mined the territories and supply roads between the positions of the Azerbaijan Army units in different directions. But of course, the glorious Azerbaijani Army responded and put the enemy back in place.

Large number of media and members of the civil society were present on the occasion.

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