Khojaly genocide in Azerbaijan highlighted

Speakers at a seminar on ‘Khojaly Genocide in Azerbaijan’ paid tribute to the will and resolve of the people of Azerbaijan against the act of genocide committed by Armenians in Khojaly town on the night of 25th and 26th February 1992.

According to a press release issued here on Tuesday, the seminar was organised by the Department of International Relations (IR) of National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, in collaboration with the Society of Asian Civilizations Pakistan to mark the 20th anniversary of the ‘Khojaly Genocide in Azerbaijan.’ In his keynote address Professor Dr ZA Qureshi, Head of IR Department of NUML highlighted the historical prospective of the Khojaly Genocide and background of ‘Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’. He said that Armenian occupation forces while violating all international human rights conventions perpetrated a mass massacre and captured a territory against the will and aspirations of Azeris. The Armenian forces are holding the Khojaly and Nagorno-Karabakh areas of Azerbaijan in violation of UN Security Council rules. He also quoted a statement by Senate of Pakistan, which condemned a brutal action of Armenian forces against Azerbaijanis civilians.

Moreover, Sarwat Rauf, Assistant Professor, IR, NUML; Dr Mohammad Khan, HoD, IR Department, National Defence University; Dr Saima Kayani, HoD Department of Defence and Diplomatic Studies, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi; Yar Muhammad Badeeni, journalist, presented their papers respectively on the topic.

The speakers shed light on the ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ conflict and its future prospective, recounted the historical background of the massacre terming it a tragedy of 20th century and explained its counter effects on the civilized world.