Pakistani Senate panel passes resolution condemning Armenian occupation
By Sara Rajabova
Pakistani Senate committee has passed a resolution extending its support for Azerbaijan over the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The resolution, passed by the defense and defense production committee of the Senate, condemned the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by neighboring Armenia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry website reported.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.
The document fully supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, strongly condemned the aggressive position of Armenia, and demanded speedy implementation of the UN resolutions on the conflict.
The document was supported by the deputy chairman of Senate, the chairman of the defense and defense production committee and other officials, also the leading parties represented in Senate, including the ruling PML-N party.
The committee also thanked the Azerbaijani government in the resolution for supporting Pakistan on the decades-old Kashmir dispute.
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute between India, Kashmiri insurgent groups and Pakistan over control of the Kashmir region.
The resolution came prior to the departure of a six-member Pakistani parliamentary delegation to Baku to observe the presidential election to be held in Azerbaijan on October 9.
Azerbaijani citizens will go the polls on October 9 to elect their president for a five-year term through general, direct and equal elections, by free, private and secret voting.
The Pakistani parliamentary delegation, that planned to visit Azerbaijan on October 7-11, will include six MPs from six political parties. They are ANP's Senator Haji Adeel, PML-Q's Senator Mushahid Hussain, PPP's Senator Jahangir Badar, MNA Tahira Aurangzeb and Senators Sughra Imam, Sabir Baloch and Tahir Mashadi.
The Senate Committee's chairman, Senator Haji Adeel, said Azerbaijan was one of Pakistan's closest friends.
He said the Pakistani mission will play an important role in observing the election - a move aimed at contributing its input to strengthening democracy in the friendly country.
Senator Mushahid Hussain said the Pakistani mission was one of the largest missions among international election observers.