By: Maarij Farooq
The writer is a lawyer & Deputy Editor of Daily Ittehad Group of Newspapers & Pakistan Economic Net (PEN)
The world is a global village and every country remains in touch with one another only if their vested interests are present. Pakistan, in this regard has been lucky, as we have some time tested and pure friends, who regardless of any interests, support us unconditionally. These friends are China, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Currently, Azerbaijan’s ambassador Khazar Farhadov is one of the popular ambassadors in Pakistan. That’s because since the time he arrived in Pakistan, he has been busy exploring every corner of the country. Be it the valley of Peshawar, or the city of lights, Karachi. Be it the city of Iqbal, Lahore or twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi. His personality is such that people tend to like him. People in Pakistan feel that he is one our own.
The other day, he visited Rawat Fort while wearing traditional shalwar kameez. He was accompanied by his wife Tarana Farhadova, where they explored the fort and also went to visit Khewra salt mine. This promotes the soft image of Azerbaijan on Pakistan. As every Pakistani considers Azerbaijani as one of their own. By his act and kindness, Khazar Farhadov is portraying a positive image of Azerbaijan. It will further strengthen the relations of both the countries.
Recently, I have seen a change in Pakistani mind-sets. Most of the people who plan their vacations, tend to incline towards visiting Europe or Turkey. This is because these countries have marketed themselves well and there is no doubt that they have beautiful sights. But lately, the trend is changing. People now prefer going to other countries especially Azerbaijan. That’s because the embassy of Azerbaijan in Islamabad has put forward a very different yet beautiful of image of Azerbaijan and constant promotion of their country has led to people desiring to visit this beautiful country. The credit for this goes to Khazar Farhadov and his people’s friendly policy.
The constant visits by him across Pakistan and promotion of Azerbaijan in such a manner that a common Pakistani knows about Azerbaijan is what makes his tenure a success. People were already fond of Azerbaijan before but after his arrival, the bond is now stronger than ever.
The relationship between Pakistan and Azerbaijan continues to develop in the religious and cultural spheres. There is a special branch of the language department at Baku State University specifically dedicated to the study of Urdu.
In the spring of 1996, the Joint Declaration on the twinning of the Azerbaijani city of Ganja with the Pakistani city of Multan was adopted. Multan caravanserai is present in Baku since the 14th century which was built for the traders who used to visit Baku.
Not only cultural, but there is a strong corporation of Pakistan and Azerbaijan in the military sector. Regarding the issues of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, it is noted that it is possible to produce weapons for common purposes, as well as laying the foundations of military enterprises. On the other hand, Pakistan aims to strengthen its relations with Azerbaijan in the field of energy on the account of the lack of energy resources.
The efforts of Khazar Farhadov have further strengthened the Pakistan-Azerbaijan relations and have taken them to the next level. The foundation which has been set by the current ambassador has set the ground for the upcoming ambassadors and made their work further easy. Relations between the countries are stronger than ever and brotherly countries stand by each other no matter what the situation is.
