ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday condemned the so-called elections held in the territories of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.
“Pakistan considers Karabagh as the sovereign territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and any attempt to conduct so-called elections by the illegally installed regime is legally and morally reprehensible,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.
“Such an attempt is also a grave violation of the UN Charter and principles of established international law.”
The polls have also been condemned by Turkey, the EU, Organisation of Turkic States, Ukraine and others.
Responding to a query regarding the so-called presidential elections in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the spokesperson said such an attempt was also a grave violation of the United Nations Charter and principles of established international law.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.
Despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement, tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia rose in recent months over the Lachin road, the only land route giving Armenia access to the Karabakh region, where Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint in April on the grounds for preventing the illegal transport of military arms and equipment to the region.
