Honorable Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Pakistan, Shaza Fatima Khawaja,
Honorable Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ahmed, Commander Air Defence Pakistan Army,
Dear excellences, Colleagues.
Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen.
Assalamu Aleykum and very good evening.
First of all, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for joining us today to celebrate one of the most glorious days in the history of Azerbaijan — 8th of November, The Victory Day. We are pleased to share this important day with our friends, whose friendship and support have always held a special place in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people.
Today, we once again commemorate with gratitude the cherished memory of our brave martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. We will always remember their courage, dedication and love for their homeland.
The Second Karabakh War or, how we call it, Patriotic War, resulted in the liberation of large parts of occupied for almost 30 years territories of Azerbaijan and this forced Armenia to accept the conditions of Azerbaijan and withdraw its armed forces from a number of territories without military operation. Conditions were finally created for the establishment of peace, cooperation and security in our region. By liberating its territories Azerbaijan, at the same time fulfilled the four UN Security Council resolutions of 1993 which called for the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of occupational forces, and which had been lying dead on paper for 30 years.
This great Victory was achieved thanks to the courage of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, the political, diplomatic, military vision and wisdom of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, and what is of crucial importance, thanks to the unity of the Azerbaijani people.
In order to celebrate the achievement, which opened a new era in the history of our country, November 8, the day when the city of Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, the most strategic point of Karabagh, had been liberated, was designated as Victory Day by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
Dear friends,
War was not the choice of Azerbaijani state and people. For nearly 30 years, we had used all means for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, which occurred as a result of military aggression and occupation by Armenia of the historical Azerbaijani territories, recognized by the whole international community as an integral part of Azerbaijan. During 30 years we had remained committed to the negotiation process. Despite the fact that international law, including the UN Charter, recognized our right to defend ourselves, to liberate our occupied territories by the use of military force, we used all possible means to avoid the war, taking into account the moral, humanitarian, social, economic consequences of it for both sides.
Unfortunately, the leadership of Armenia, ignoring international law and not complying with the resolutions of international organizations, including four resolutions of the UN Security Council, openly demonstrated that the Armenian side would not liberate our lands peacefully, and even the military concept adopted by the Armenian government in 2019 revealed that the occupation of new Azerbaijani territories was planned.
All this and the incessant provocations committed by the Armenian side against the Azerbaijani armed forces and the civil population made the use of military force inevitable, and the military operations ended with victory.
All wars should end by peace, with the signing of a peace treaty. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is no exception.
A military victory is an important achievement, but lasting peace is essential for the future of our region and the generations to come.
Immediately after the end of the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan proposed the signing of a peace agreement with Armenia. Despite numerous challenges and difficulties, Azerbaijan continues to support the negotiation process.
We remain committed to building a future, based on mutual respect, sovereignty, territorial integrity, good-neighborly relations and regional cooperation.
Distinguished Participants,
The restoration and reconstruction work that started in the liberated territories immediately after the war, is now ongoing, the construction of settlements, infrastructure facilities, roads and bridges, completely destroyed during the occupation, as well as the restoration of religious and cultural monuments are being carried out.
At the same time, the process of demining the territories is also ongoing. It should be noted that during the occupation period, more than 1 million mines were deployed by Armenia on these lands, and their clearance requires huge financial resources and a long period of time.
The process of return of the population to the liberated territories is successfully continued in accordance with a special state program implemented by the Azerbaijani government. Currently, the number of people working in these territories and former IDPs returning to their historical lands for permanent residence is more than 120,000.
In short, security, tranquility and peaceful life are returning to the territories, and it can be noted as a triumph of Azerbaijan’s foreign and internal policy, founded by our Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, implemented and developed by the President Ilham Aliyev, which is based on the establishment of peace, stability, security and cooperation in the country and the region as a whole.
Distinguished guests, dear friends.
Today, when we talk about the Patriotic War of the Azerbaijani people and the liberation of our lands from occupation, I am obliged to once again convey our gratitude and appreciations to the state and government, as well as to all the people of Pakistan, who have been with us during this period, who had not spared political, diplomatic and moral support to us.
In a situation where double standards and selected approach prevail in the international arena, the continuous support of Pakistan, which demonstrates political courage, diplomatic wisdom, and adherence to the norms and principles of international law, has always been highly appreciated by the Azerbaijani people and state.
Partnership relations between our countries, based on mutual respect and support, fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation, are currently experiencing their highest stage of development. High-level visits, active participation in international events held in our countries, cooperation between the media, scientific and educational institutions, state bodies and non-governmental organizations, businessmen, collaboration in the military-technical sphere, which is expanding and deepening every day, are indicators of this development. ASAN Service Islamabad, which was established with the close participation and assistance of Azerbaijan, can be considered as the most beautiful monument to friendship and brotherhood between the two countries.
Dear friends, Ladies and gentlemen,
Concluding my speech here, I would like once again to thank all of you, as well as the staff of the Azerbaijani Embassy and the team of the Marriott Islamabad Hotel who spared no effort in organizing this event.
Long live Azerbaijani-Pakistani friendship and brotherhood.
Aazarbijani-pakistani dosti or bhai charah zandah bad.
THANK YOU.
