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.”
“Our ever-vigilant Air Force hawks … shot down seven highly sophisticated enemy aircraft with lightning speed in defense of the motherland,” he added.
Sharif said Pakistan, like its “Azerbaijani and Turkish brothers,” sought peace, but cautioned that no one would ever be allowed to challenge its sovereignty or undermine its territorial integrity.
He also praised US President Donald Trump for his decisive role in averting a broader conflict between India and Pakistan and in addressing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“It was President Trump’s bold and decisive leadership that brought about the ceasefire between Pakistan and India, restoring peace in South Asia and saving millions of people,” Sharif said.
Pakistani troops and JF-17 Thunder fighter jets also participated in Azerbaijan’s Victory Day parade, where both sides hailed close bilateral relations.
A day earlier, Sharif and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met to discuss deeper cooperation in defense, energy, trade and politics, joined by Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
