President Ilham’s vision transformed professional competence of Azerbaijan Army: Ambassador Khazar
Naveed Ahmad Khan Photo by Raja Farid
Islamabad: The Embassy of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the 105th Armed Forces Day of Azerbaijan in a local hotel in Islamabad where ambassadors & High Commissioners of different countries, bureaucrats, high-ranking military personnel, media groups and people from other walks of life participated.
The orchestra band of Pakistan Army took special part in this event, which received great applause from the audience by playing the national anthems of both the countries.
Air Marshal Pakistan Air Force Irfan Ahmed was the chief guest of this prestigious event who cut the cake along with the Ambassador of Azerbaijan, Military Attaché, Chief of Diplomatic Mission, Ambassador of Turkiye and others.
Khazar Farhadov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan during his opening remarks said, today we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces. Undoubtedly, the peak of the warpath of our National Army during this period is the glorious Victory gained in the Patriotic War – Karabakh Victory. There has been no similar Victory in the centuries-old history of our nation.
On June 26, 1918, by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first regular military unit – the Combined Azerbaijan Corps – was created. The task of creating an army of 25 thousand people was set by the Government. On August 1, 1918, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan was established.
The creation of the modern National Army started in 1991 after the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, those who led our country in the first years of independence could not cope with the important and responsible task of army building at that time when Armenia occupied our lands. The encroachment of the enemy on our lands was expanding more and more. Azerbaijan faced the threat of losing its independence. At such a difficult time, the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, who returned to power at the request of the people, eliminated chaos and anarchy, economic and political difficulties in the country and started the process of building a regular army.
After the National Leader’s return to power, our army and people had a firm belief in Victory. At the call of Heydar Aliyev, a large-scale mobilization was held, and military units were fully equipped in the country.
The process of army building in Azerbaijan entered a qualitatively new stage under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Thanks to his great attention, who successfully continued the army-building policy, continuous steps were taken in the direction of increasing the professionalism of the military, increasing the fighting spirit and moral-psychological training of the personnel, and supplying our Armed Forces with the most modern weapons and equipment.
The 44 days of the Patriotic War of 2020 which resulted in the liberation of our territories from Armenian occupation by the brave Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev was written in golden letters in our history. It is no coincidence that the military operations of the Azerbaijani Army, especially the Shusha operation are studied in the leading military schools of the world today.
Moreover, Farhadov said, we can see that Azerbaijan and Pakistan’s bilateral relations are at a high level in all fields, including military and defense cooperation. I want to especially highlight the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Azerbaijan which will be always remembered as a very successful visit. A broad range of issues of bilateral agenda, including trade and investment, energy cooperation, defense industry, increasing direct flights, and other important issues were discussed. All those projects which will further deepen our ties will be implemented very soon.
I would also like to mention that over the past 30 years, mutual visits have been carried out in the military and military-technical fields. I am confident that these ties will be further strengthened and deepened.
Col Mehman Novruzlu, Defence Attache of the Embassy of Azerbaijan during his opening remarks said, the people of Azerbaijan have for centuries fought for liberty and statehood along its ancient history. Because of rich natural resources and strategic location, our motherland has always undergone pressures and military aggressions by strong states.
After the collapse of the czarist Russia, the first democratic republic in the East – the People’s Republic of Azerbaijan was created in 1918. During its 23 months of existence, the Republic founded all attributes of an independent state, including the national army. Fighting the occupant policy of Armenians and Bolsheviks, the government of Azerbaijan made a decision on creation of the military corps with the status of division on 26th June 1918, and thus the cornerstone of the national army was laid.
At the time, Azerbaijan used to send about 60.000 youth to the Soviet Army, yearly. Therefore, the opening of such a military school in Baku had a huge significance in promoting the military spirit of the people of Azerbaijan.
Heydar Aliyev achieved admission of Azerbaijani youth to the Baku Army and Naval Academies, as well as other military academies in the former USSR on preferential terms. So, 20 years before gaining independence of Azerbaijan, national leader Heydar Aliyev provided a high-level military training basis for the nation.
Since its establishment on 26 June 1918, the Azerbaijan Armed Forces have faced many security challenges and demonstrated remarkable resilience, unwavering dedication, and a strong commitment to safeguarding security and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijan Armed Forces carried out the war of the 21st century and destroyed Armenian fascism on the battlefield, thus demonstrating the strength, determination and professionalism of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces.
Azerbaijan and Pakistan enjoy strategic partnership relations which also cover the cooperation in the defense and security fields.
The Azerbaijan-Pakistan military cooperation has been built on the foundations of brotherhood, shared values, and common objectives. The exchange of high-level military visits, participation in training programs, conducting joint exercises, as well as growing military technical cooperation have further deepened the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.
This collaboration has served to enhance the capabilities and professionalism of both our armed forces, enabling us to face emerging security challenges effectively.
In 2021, Azerbaijan hosted a joint special forces exercise under the code name “Three Brothers”, which included participation of special forces of Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Türkiye. The aim of such exercises is to enhance joint operational readiness of our armies, improve their level of interoperability and enable our countries to jointly address all kinds of regional security challenges. We are planning to continue conducting more combined joint military exercises in multilateral formats.
The photo exhibition of mosques, cultural sites and important monuments of Azerbaijan was also a part of this reception. The event ended with an informal discussion with the participants and a delicious dinner.