Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye ‘brothers in arms’: PM Shehbaz

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan stands shoulder to shoulder with its ‘Azerbaijani and Turkish brothers’, bound by enduring ties of faith, friendship and shared struggle.

Addressing Azerbaijan’s Victory Day parade in Baku on Saturday, the prime minister said, “Pakistan is committed to peace and no country would be allowed to challenge our sovereignty or undermine our terrirtorial integrity.”

Shehbaz said it was a proud sight to witness Pakistani troops marching alongside Azerbaijani and Turkish contingents as JF-17 Thunder jets roared overhead — a symbol, he noted, of a friendship that had grown from strength to strength over the years.

He recalled how Azerbaijani and Turkish soldiers had marched with Pakistan’s armed forces in Islamabad on August 14 this year during celebrations of Maarka-e-Haq, marking Pakistan’s victory in a four-day conflict with India.

The prime minister praised Azerbaijan’s ‘courageous sons’ who, under the ‘bold and visionary leadership’ of President Ilham Aliyev, liberated their ancestral lands of Karabakh five years ago.

“Throughout this entire struggle for liberation, Pakistan stood like a rock with its brotherly country Azerbaijan,” he said, calling the victory ‘a beacon of hope’ for all nations seeking self-determination — including the people of Gaza and Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Referring to this year’s brief conflict with India, Shehbaz said, Pakistan’s armed forces, under the command of Field Marshal Asim Munir, delivered a bloody nose to our enemy with a precise and highly effective military punch. He said the Pakistan Air Force, led by Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Baber Sidhu, shot down seven enemy aircraft with lightning speed in defence of the motherland.

The prime minister lauded Azerbaijan’s post-war reconstruction drive, describing the rebuilding of Shusha, Khankendi, Fuzuli and Lachin as absolutely phenomenal. He also praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visionary leadership in transforming Turkiye into a modern, strategic and economic power.

“True victory lies not on the battlefield alone but in building bridges of peace and understanding,” Shehbaz remarked, commending President Aliyev’s diplomatic efforts for peace and development.

He also expressed appreciation for US President Donald Trump’s ‘bold and decisive leadership’ in brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, which he said ‘averted a major war and saved millions of people’.

Shehbaz thanked President Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for their roles in facilitating peace efforts between Pakistan and Afghanistan, describing their cooperation as a reflection of strong and time-tested fraternal ties.

The prime minister prayed for the martyrs of Azerbaijan and extended Pakistan’s felicitations on the fifth anniversary of the country’s ‘glorious victory’ in the 44-day Patriotic War.

In his remarks, President Ilham Aliyev thanked Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan for their solidarity during the conflict with Armenia. He also expressed gratitude to Turkiye for its steadfast support, saying the joint participation of military contingents in the parade symbolised ‘unity, brotherhood and friendship’.

President Erdogan congratulated Azerbaijan on its Victory Day and said the triumph marked ‘not an end but the beginning of enduring peace in the region’. He also emphasised the importance of enhanced regional connectivity to promote trade and prosperity.

Azerbaijan celebrates Victory Day on November 8 every year to commemorate its success in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, which ended nearly three decades of Armenian occupation.