Pakistani minister hails Azerbaijan's peace move with Armenia

Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ataullah Tarar praised Azerbaijan for taking a major step toward lasting peace by initialing a peace agreement with Armenia.

In a statement to Report, the minister emphasized that Azerbaijan had extended a hand to Armenia, helping it out of a long-standing conflict.

The minister highlighted the strong and strategic ties between Azerbaijan and Pakistan:

"Azerbaijan and Pakistan have very strategic relations at the level of brotherhood. Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has very close ties with President Ilham Aliyev. I think President Ilham is a very great leader, he has done a lot for his country. We were very proud that Baku hosted COP29, and we were there. We have had bilateral visits to Azerbaijan. Not only that, when we were invited to Karabakh, we visited Lachin and Shusha. Karabakh is a charming corner of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has very beautiful tourist attractions. Pakistan was one of the few countries invited there at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev. We had very productive meetings in Shusha and Lachin.

In addition, Pakistan, Türkiye and Azerbaijan are holding trilateral talks. We continue to cooperate in various areas such as trade, investment, energy, and infrastructure. I think that Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations have developed greatly in the last few years, and we value this friendship very highly. The people of Pakistan have a very warm attitude towards Azerbaijan. Many Pakistani tourists go to Baku for tourism purposes. At the same time, many people from Azerbaijan also come to Pakistan. That is, ordinary Pakistani civilians also understand the importance of this friendship and see Azerbaijan as a friendly and brotherly country."

The minister said that Pakistan has always stood by Azerbaijan during Armenia's occupation policy against Azerbaijan for more than 30 years and is Azerbaijan's strongest supporter in the international arena:

"Pakistan has always supported Azerbaijan in both peacetime and wartime. I think that the peace agreement initialed between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a great success. This is the result of the far-sighted leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, we should also thank President Donald Trump for mediating this peace. I think thanks to this peace, both countries will develop further, and more stability will be created in the region.

In this situation, Azerbaijan has reached out to the other side and pulled them out of the quagmire. Thus, Azerbaijan has truly entered a new era. The participation of President Ilham Aliyev in this year's session of the UN General Assembly also shows that the world is now taking Azerbaijan very seriously."