The News International, Pakistan
Feb 26 2005
Anniversary of Khojali massacre
Azeri envoy lauds Pakistan stand on Nagorno-Karabakh
Rasheed Khalid
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan always supported Azerbaijan’s position on
Nagorno-Karabakh and did not establish diplomatic relations with
Armenia that forcibly occupied the Azeri territory in 1992, said Dr.
Eynulla Madatli, ambassador of Azerbaijan.
He was talking to `The News’ on the 13th anniversary of Khojali
massacre observed every year on February 26 to commemorate the
genocide in which Armenian forces backed by military hardware and
personnel from Russia killed innocent citizens of Khojali while
rendering hundreds wounded, homeless and orphaned.
About Islamabad-Baku relations, Dr. Madatli said that the two
countries signed a military and defence agreement in 2002. Referring
to the visit of Pakistani dignitaries to his country, he expected
further cementing of relations after the visit of Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev. He said that the two countries were
cooperating in the fields of combating terrorism, smuggling and drug
trafficking.
Dr. Madatli said that a cultural troupe from his country also visited
Pakistan recently for raising funds for tsunami victims and held a
concert attended by President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz and others. He hoped that the two countries will
organise exchanges in the field of culture and education. He said
that the two countries were exploring possibilities of cooperation in
agriculture and IT.