PM pays tribute to Azeri forces 'valiantly defending their territorial integrity'

Prime Minister Imran Khan paid tribute to the Azeri forces 'valiantly defending their territorial integrity' as the former Soviet republic marked the 28th anniversary of its independence on Sunday.

In a tweet, the premier extended "warmest felicitations" to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and the Azeri people.

"We pay tribute to Azeri forces valiantly defending their territorial integrity," he said, referring to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

"Pakistan stands with Azerbaijan in its quest to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh issue as per the UN Security Council resolutions," the premier concluded.

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan had rejected allegations by the Armenian prime minister alleging involvement of Pakistani special forces alongside Azerbaijani army in the ongoing Karabakh conflict.

"We have seen the transcript of Armenian Prime Minister’s interview on 15 October with a Russian TV referring to some unsubstantiated reports alleging involvement of Pakistani special forces alongside Azerbaijani army in the ongoing conflict," Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhari said in a statement.

FO spokesperson said it is regrettable that the leadership of Armenia, to cover up its illegal actions against Azerbaijan, is resorting to irresponsible propaganda, which it must stop.

FO spokesperson further said that long-term peace and normalisation of relations between the two parties would depend on the complete and comprehensive implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions and withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijani territories.

Conflict

The decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict re-erupted on September 27 and has so far killed more than 700 people, including 80 civilians.

The mountainous western region of Azerbaijan has remained under separatist Armenian control since a 1994 ceasefire ended a brutal war that killed 30,000.

Armenia, which backs Nagorno-Karabakh but does not recognise its independence, has admitted that Azerbaijani forces have made important gains along the front in the past week.

An AFP team was taken by the Azerbaijani military on Friday to one settlement re-captured in the southern section of the conflict zone near the Iranian border.

Azerbaijani officials said they last controlled the settlement of Jabrayil, which includes strategic heights overlooking a fertile valley, during the post-Soviet war.

The current escalation is the deadliest and longest since that six-year conflict.