"As long as Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Türkiye are together, no one can threaten them" Caliber.Az interview with Pakistani analyst Tazin Akhtar

Caliber.Az presents an interview with Tazin Akhtar, Pakistani analyst, and editor-in-chief of Pakistan in the World magazine.

- The meeting of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif was held in Astana on October 12. In this regard, I would like to ask how you assess the current level of relations between Baku and Islamabad?

- Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's recent meeting in Astana with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has opened new opportunities for a solid foundation for mutual cooperation. The two countries are mainly working on developing transport and communication capabilities, which is a prerequisite for increasing trade, investment, tourism, and other areas necessary for building strong links between the people and businesses of Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

I recently interviewed the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, Mr. Mohammad Ali Hussaini. We discussed the issue of Pakistani cargo going through Iran to Türkiye and Azerbaijan. The Iranian ambassador spoke positively about the possibility of communication through his country. He suggested the use of North-South and East-West corridors for this purpose. Pakistan could be easily connected with Azerbaijan via these corridors.

Pakistan has long been suffering from energy shortages while Azerbaijan is rich in energy resources. And Azerbaijan has already offered its assistance to Pakistan to overcome the energy crisis. SOCAR has long negotiated with Pakistan to reach an agreement.

As for military-technical cooperation, defence industry and military training are the key areas in which our two countries closely cooperate with each other. Apart from the aforementioned details, an important point in the bilateral discussions is Baku's interest in the JF-17 Thunder. It is the newest and well-equipped Pakistani-Chinese-made combat aircraft. Pakistan is now already producing it itself, and the tests have been successful. It is a light, single-engine, multi-purpose combat aircraft.

- Recently India and Armenia have been actively developing cooperation, including in the military-technical sphere. What do you think is New Delhi's interest in our region?

- It is quite obvious that India and Armenia are deepening cooperation taking into account the close ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan. In principle, no country can oppose the development of bilateral cooperation between the states, but in this case, the situation is different.

Armenia and India are far apart and are not connected in any way. Pakistan and Azerbaijan, on the other hand, are linked by centuries-old ties. The Multani Caravanserai in Baku is proof of the historical trade links between the two countries. Traders who travelled from the Pakistani city of Multan to Baku via Iran used to stop there. Pakistan has recently re-established this route through a pilot project in which the Pakistan National Logistics Authority shipped goods to Baku via Iran and Türkiye.

Pakistani civilian and military officials visited Azerbaijan after the liberation of Armenia-occupied lands. Pakistani companies are involved in the reconstruction of recently liberated territories. The armies and air forces of both countries are increasing mutual cooperation in training and other areas.

India and Armenia began regular and rapid interaction only after Pakistan and Azerbaijan strengthened their cooperation in all possible sectors. This is another 'Afghan model'. As we know, India invested in Afghanistan during the Ashraf Ghani regime only to damage Pakistani interests. Now India is doing the same in Armenia. India's military cooperation with Armenia is directed against Pakistani interests in Azerbaijan.

By the way, here we see that Russia is a common friend of both Armenia and India. Russia encouraged and supported Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Russia is also a historically close partner of India. This makes Russia a catalyst for Armenian-Indian friendship. The Armenia-India-Russia trio, therefore, becomes a challenge in the South Caucasus for both Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

Türkiye, which has fraternal relations with both Pakistan and Azerbaijan, should clarify its position on the transfer of drone technology to India, from where it can be transferred to Armenia and Russia.

- How would you assess the prospects for further development of Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye trilateral cooperation? Is the creation of the Ankara-Islamabad-Baku military-political axis possible?

- Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye trilateral cooperation would serve the interests of peace and overall stability in the South Caucasus and South Asia regions. The three countries are supporters of ending disputes and building bridges between the peoples. Türkiye has earned a good name and prominence in the world by mediating a grain trade deal between Ukraine and Russia. Pakistan has thwarted Indian expansion plans in South Asia and has contributed greatly to the stability of Afghanistan. Pakistan, in partnership with Iran, has recently revived the trade route to Türkiye and Azerbaijan. Our flags bear the same symbols and our minds think along the same lines.

The Second Karabakh War showed that if our three brotherly countries are together, no one, no matter how powerful and strong they are, can threaten us. A bloc of these three countries can also positively influence the dynamics of the Middle East and Eurasia in the common interest.

- Russia-Ukraine war. Whose side is Pakistan on?

- Let me correct you - this is not a war, but an invasion of a neighbouring country by Russia and Belarus just to punish it for cooperating with NATO and the EU. This is my personal opinion. As for the Pakistani government's position, it is neutral. Yes, Ukraine does not think it is the right policy for Pakistan. A few weeks ago I attended a press conference of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Mr. Kuleba. He said: "How can you be neutral when a powerful country is killing our civilians, including children and women?"

Pakistan, on the other hand, asked: "Why are Europe and the US so concerned about Russia's illegal occupation and human rights violations in Ukraine, yet they are indifferent to what India is doing in Kashmir?"

Our then Prime Minister Imran Khan was in Moscow when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year. I wrote articles pointing out the wrong timing of our Prime Minister's visit to Russia. He was later removed from power on April 9, not by a so-called US conspiracy, but democratically as a result of a general lack of confidence. I asked the new Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif a question: "What is your policy on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine?" He replied, "Pakistan does not support disputes and wars. We are keen to normalise relations between the two countries." To my question about relations with the US, he replied, "Pakistan will continue to build good relations with the US."

- One last question. Recently, the risk of a nuclear war has increased. As Pakistan is a nuclear power, I would like to know your opinion: who do you think would be the first to risk using these weapons?

- I don't think any country can even consider using nuclear weapons. It is nothing more than madness. Just recently the idea of using nuclear weapons came from none other than Mr. Putin. Just a few days ago, Mr. Putin said, "There is no need to launch massive strikes against Ukraine anymore." And after October 10, many Ukrainian cities were targeted by Russian missiles. Russia avenged the Crimean bridge by shelling Ukrainian cities. In addition, Russia annexed 4 Ukrainian regions a couple of weeks ago to create distance to the border of a potential NATO country. This means that Russia has achieved what it set out to do. Then why would Russia threaten to use nuclear weapons from now on?