News Analysis |
On February 20, 2018, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) conducted a seminar on “Crimes against Humanity-Genocides and Ethnic Cleansing” in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The seminar was set to recall the 1918 genocide of Azerbaijanis and 26th anniversary of Khojaly genocide in which at least 161 ethnic Azerbaijani civilians were killed from the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992 by the Armenian and, partially, by Commonwealth of Independent States’ armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Pakistan’s National Security Advisor, Lt.Gen Nasser Khan Janjua said while speaking in the seminar, “The disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir is in a constant state of unrest because Indian forces continue to commit crimes against humanity on a daily basis.”
International institutions including the United Nations should pay attention to these incidents honorably. These issues must be raised in regional and international forums including Organization of Islamic Cooperation frequently to prevent the loss of life and torture.
He added, “The genocide of Khojaly shows that the world of today still has to go a long way to invest and preserve humanity.” Moreover he explained that Baku and Islamabad have shared positions on Nagorno-Karabakh and the Kashmir conflict as the people of Kashmir and Azerbaijan had faced similar brutalities. He suggested that the soldiers of contemporary times must have ethics in the war zone. He differentiated the Kashmir issue and stated that there was a constant unrest because of India’s brutal anti humanitarian actions on a regular basis.
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Azerbaijan Ambassador Ali Alizada gave a detailed summary of the Khojaly genocide in the seminar. This genocide can never be removed from the history of humanity. He emphasized on justice for Kashmiri people. Conflicts in both Kashmir and Khojaly must be resolved according to international law. He affirmed, “All the tragedies that have befallen Azerbaijan in the 19th and 20th centuries, accompanied by the seizure of our land, have been different stages of a conscious policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing systematically applied by the Armenians against the Azerbaijani people.”
He quoted his national leader Heydar Aliyev, “Khojaly massacre is a continuation and the bloodiest page of the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide continuously conducted by the Armenian chauvinists and nationalists against the Azerbaijanis over around 200 years.” Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul also condemned Azerbaijan’s suffering.
Genocide includes the killing of members of the group and inflicts serious physical and mental harm to them and forcibly transfer children of the targeted groups to another group. To end this genocide, there is a dire need to prevent armed conflicts, which usually provide the context for genocide.
He stated, “In order to resolve this issue, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should be made clear first of all. This calls for engagement, which is falling on deaf ears on part of Armenia since they are busy promoting a very unjust narrative of their own. This needs to be stopped,” Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Professor at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad said, “Genocides and crimes against humanity were an old phenomenon in the world. Every instance of crime against humankind must be accounted for.”
Read more: Former Indian Home Minister cites Kashmir as area of ‘dispute’
He also warned that if these kinds of crimes will continue and not get resolved, they would gain more momentum. The international community will have to adopt those measures without any religious/ethnic discrimination to maintain peace and prosperity regionally and globally. If major powers do not follow this approach, the phenomenon of radical extremism will grow.
Genocide includes the killing of members of the group and inflicts serious physical and mental harm to them and forcibly transfer children of the targeted groups to another group. To end this genocide, there is a dire need to prevent armed conflicts, which usually provide the context for genocide. International institutions including the United Nations should pay attention to these incidents honorably. These issues must be raised in regional and international forums including Organization of Islamic Cooperation frequently to prevent the loss of life and torture.