Martyrs of Azerbaijan remembered

ISLAMABAD: First Lady of Azerbaijan and Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO Mehriban Aliyeva on Thursday inaugurated the solar energy community water Sahal Khinger, tehsil Gujar Khan, in remembrance of the martyrs of Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Dashgin Shikarov stressed the ties and shared values of two nations that brought the people of Azerbaijan and Pakistan together. Shikarov briefed the participants on events of January 20, 1990. He said that on that fateful night Soviet troops stormed Baku, shooting and smashing peaceful demonstrators by tanks. “As a result of this unprecedented illegal action, 134 men were killed about 700 men wounded,” he added.

The diplomat said that “Black January” was a turning point in the history of Azerbaijan. “Despite military, political and moral aggression, Azerbaijani national movement kept on struggling, succeeding in declaring its independence on October 18, 1991 and Pakistan was one of the first countries in the world to recognise this independence,” he added.

Addressing the audience, Ibn-e-Khaldun Academy Principle Qazi Muhammad Imran, Azerbaijan-Pakistan Media Forum Secretary General Raja Javed Batti and the other speakers spoke about cordial relations between the two countries and the importance to always remember all those who sacrificed their precious lives for the freedom of their motherland. They also spoke about the independence movement of Pakistan and the people who laid down their lives for the Nation.