Pakistan opposes Armenian action on Upper Karabakh

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Monday opposed unilateral action by Armenia to change the status quo in the Upper Karabakh region, urging Yerevan to respect UN Security Council resolutions on the disputed region.

Speaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group meeting on Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Upper Karabakh dispute was "a threat to regional peace and stability", likening it to the Jammu and Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India.

"Pakistan is against the action of Armenia to change geography, population, economic, social and cultural identity and institutional structure in Nagorno-Karabakh," Qureshi said, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.

Noting that the conflict that erupted in 1994 has displaced one million people, Qureshi urged Armenia to respect Azerbaijan's integrity and sovereignty and withdraw its forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territory of Upper Karabakh, in line with previous UN Security Council resolutions.

During the meeting which was held at the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Qureshi called on the world to resolve the simmering dispute and ensure repatriation of displaced people.

Upper Karabakh is the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan illegally occupied by Armenia through military aggression since 1991.

The Armenian occupation of the historical Azerbaijani lands led Turkey -- which sides with Baku in the conflict -- to close its frontier with Armenia.