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Pakistani Ambassador: â€œKashmir and Nagorno Karabakh have been occupiedâ€

05 February 2014 08:35 (UTC +04:00)

I noted at the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev that though Azerbaijan, Turkey and Pakistan are three different countries they have one nation. We have high-level political relations and we should raise the level of economic relations as well,” newly-appointed Pakistani ambassador to Azerbaijan Khalid Usman Qaiser said at the press conference, APA reports.

The Ambassador added that the President Ilham Aliyev enjoys great respect in Pakistan: “Pakistan recognizes Azerbaijan's position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict, therefore doesn’t recognize Armenia as a state. We are the only state that doesn’t recognize Armenia. We welcome Azerbaijan’s support on the Kashmir issue.”

Touching on the similarities between Kashmir and Nagorno Karabakh issues, Qaiser said that Kashmir and Nagorno Karabakh have been occupied: “The second similarity on these issues are the facts that human rights, international law have been violated, UN Security Council resolutions have not been implemented, demographic changes have been made in the occupied territories. Human rights are consistently violated in Kashmir, thousands of people have been taken hostage or have gone missing. All international organizations are aware of it, but keep silence.”

Asked how Pakistan can assist in the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Ambassador said Pakistan's legislative bodies adopted resolutions condemning occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.
“Moreover, Pakistan is supporting Azerbaijan in the international arena. Azerbaijan is doing the same. Azerbaijan is a member of the Contact Group on Kashmir of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and we are cooperating towards the resolution of these problems,” he said.

Touching on the economic relations, the diplomat said establishment of Azerbaijan-Pakistan joint venture, mutual investments were discussed at the meeting with President.

“We want Pakistani businessmen to come to Azerbaijan and see the opportunities here. Pharmaceutical, textile industries are very strong in Pakistan. We are also competitive in the production of sports products. European Games will be held in Baku next year. I will do my best to attract Pakistani businessmen to this sphere," he said.
Speaking about launching direct flights between the two countries, Ambassador said currently, Pakistan International Airlines company can not operate such flights.

“We have offered Turkish Airlines to launch Istanbul-Baku-Islamabad flights. We have put forward these proposals,” he said.

Video on February 5 - Kashmir Solidarity Day was screened at the end of the press conference.