ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday as part of a five-day diplomacy tour in which he has so far visited Turkiye and Iran and discussed bilateral ties as well as regional developments following a recent military standoff with archrival India. 

The tour follows a four-day military escalation, the worst conflict in decades between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, in which they launched missiles and drones deep into each other’s territories and exchanged gunfire on their de facto border, the Line of Control, until a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Nearly 70 people combined were killed on both sides of the border. 

India had hit Pakistan first, saying it targeted “terrorist infrastructure” in response to an April 22 militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Islamabad of being behind — a charge it denies.

Turkiye and Azerbaijan had openly pledged support for Pakistan during the standoff while Iran had urged restraint multiple times and also offered to mediate. 

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in the Azerbaijani city of Lachin to participate in the Pakistan-Türkiye-Azerbaijan trilateral summit,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.

“He will join Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the meeting and will also hold a bilateral discussion with President Aliyev.”

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have strengthened ties in recent years through defense and energy cooperation and Baku has supported Islamabad’s position on Kashmir at international forums.

Islamabad has also offered Azerbaijan access to its seaports to facilitate trade with global markets and promoted regional connectivity initiatives linking Central Asia to South Asia.

At the start of his regional visit, Sharif met Erdogan in Türkiye and thanked him for Ankara’s strong backing during the recent military conflict with India. The two leaders also discussed expanding cooperation in defense production, energy, IT, agriculture and infrastructure and agreed to pursue a bilateral trade target of $5 billion, building on commitments made during the 7th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council held in Islamabad earlier this year.

Sharif also visited Tehran, where he held meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

At a joint press stakeout with the Iranian president, Sharif made a peace offer to India, saying Pakistan was ready for talks on contentious issues including Kashmir, water-sharing and countering terrorism.