ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to defend its territorial integrity against external aggression, referring to recent border skirmishes with Afghanistan and a brief military conflict with India, as he addressed Azerbaijan’s Victory Day celebrations in Baku.
Victory Day marks Azerbaijan’s 2020 military success in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which its forces regained control of territories from Armenian troops after six weeks of fighting. The conflict ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that restored Azerbaijani control over parts of the disputed region, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but long held by ethnic Armenian authorities.
Sharif said Pakistan and Türkiye had stood by Azerbaijan during its war with Armenia, just as Türkiye and Azerbaijan had supported Pakistan during Islamabad’s four-day conflict with India.
“This year, the entire world witnessed how the great people and resolute leadership of Azerbaijan and Turkiye stood firmly with Pakistan during the four-day war with India in May,” he told the gathering. “Pakistan’s highly professional armed forces delivered a bloody nose to our enemy with a precise and highly effective military punch that stunned the enemy into shock and disbelief.”
