KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Monday congratulated the government and the people of Azerbaijan on the country’s first Victory Day, which commemorates the liberation of a key city in Nagorno-Karabakh from nearly 30 years of illegal Armenian occupation.

Extending felicitations to the government, parliament, and people of Azerbaijan, Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani said that Islamabad supports Baku's "legitimate position and restoration of its territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with the UN Security Council and OIC resolutions."

He said Pakistan values its fraternal ties with Azerbaijan, as they share a vision for regional growth, peace, and development.

In a tweet, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also wished "the government and People of Azerbaijan a Happy Victory Day."

Shusha, Azerbaijan's cultural and historical capital, was liberated last fall after 28 years of Armenian occupation.

During the 44-day conflict, which ended with a Russian-brokered truce in November 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several strategic cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan – the two former Soviet republics – have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the postwar truce.