ISLAMABAD: The embassy of Azerbaijan on Wednesday commemorated Victory Day, marking the third anniversary of a significant milestone in the country’s history, at a ceremony attended by a large number of diplomats from various countries.

This annual celebration held importance as it signified the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and independence after almost three decades of Armenian occupation.

“The nation comes together to honour the memory of its martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” said Ambassador of Azerbaijan Khazar Farhadov while addressing the participants of the ceremony.

The Azerbaijan envoy and his spouse welcomed the diplomats, high commissioners and friends, who then spread around in the marquee hall of the Marriott Hotel. Songs and the short documentaries shown on the two huge screens on both sides of a stage took the guests on a wonderful journey through the country’s amazing history.

Ambassador Khazar Farhadov said Azerbaijan had endured the occupation of 20 per cent of its territory by Armenia for nearly 30 years. In 1993, he said, the United Nations Security Council passed four resolutions demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the Azerbaijani territory. These resolutions were supported by various international organisations, such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Alignment Movement, the OSCE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament. However, Armenia failed to implement these resolutions, perpetuating the status quo and ignoring diplomatic efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict, he said.

The envoy informed his guests that in 2020, Azerbaijan took a decisive action in response to yet another large-scale military attack by Armenia on Azerbaijani Army positions and civilian settlements. Over the course of a 44-day conflict, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the armed forces of Azerbaijan successfully liberated their territories fromArmenian occupation, the Ambassador said, adding, “This action was seen as a direct implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions.”

He lamented that during the prolonged occupation, Azerbaijani cities and villages were reduced to ruins, cultural and religious monuments were destroyed, and mosques were desecrated and looted. Armenians even repurposed mosques into pigsties, and hundreds of thousands of mines and booby traps were scattered across Azerbaijan’s territory.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023