Pakistani Senate recognizes events in Azerbaijani town of Khojaly as genocide

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 1 / Trend S. Agayeva / The Pakistani Senate recognized the events in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly as a genocide. The resolution recognizing the tragic events as a genocide committed by Armenian armed forces in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly in 1992 was unanimously adopted at a meeting of Pakistani Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, initiator of the resolution, Senator Haji Ghulam Ali told Trend over phone from Islamabad. The decision of the committee is major and considered as the Senate's decision. The document states that the Senate condemns the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenians and the genocide committed by Armenian armed forces in Khojaly in February 1992. The Senate confirms Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and recognizes it within internationally recognized borders. The Senate also asks for the international community to urge Armenia to fulfill the UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to call the perpetrators of the tragic events in Khojaly to justice. "Pakistan will always be close to Azerbaijan over the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the senator said. The Armenian military forces committed genocide in Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992. More than 600 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1,275 peaceful residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown. Earlier, the Mexican Senate recognized the events in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly as a genocide. The Mexican Senate's decision stressed the importance of refugees and internally displaced persons' return home in the Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia, taking into account the settlement process of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the essence of the Madrid principles. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az