Seminar dedicated to Azerbaijan's State Sovereignty Day held in Islamabad

A seminar titled "Sovereignty and Constitution: Strengthening Statehood" was held in Islamabad on the occasion of Azerbaijan's State Sovereignty Day, Report informs.

The event was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Pakistan at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), one of Pakistan's most prestigious academic institutions.

Attendees included NUML faculty and students, representatives of local think tanks, media, NGOs, and embassy staff.

In his address, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Pakistan, Khazar Farhadov, informed participants about the significance of September 20-State Sovereignty Day-and the declaration of 2025 as the "Year of Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan. He noted that the country's first Constitution, adopted on November 12, 1995, under the direct leadership of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, laid the foundation for wide-ranging legislative and institutional reforms.

"The preamble of our Constitution clearly emphasizes the protection of Azerbaijan's state independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," he said. "Due to Armenia's aggression, 20% of our territory remained under occupation for nearly 30 years, preventing the exercise of sovereign rights over those areas."

Ambassador Farhadov highlighted the historical victory in the Second Karabakh War, launched on September 27, 2020, in response to Armenian provocations, and the successful anti-terror operation of September 19–20, 2023, which fully restored Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty. He added that, following these events, President Ilham Aliyev established September 20 as State Sovereignty Day by decree on September 19, 2024.

Other speakers included former Federal Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs, and Human Rights of Pakistan, Ahmer Bilal Soofi; Executive Director of the Centre for Global and Strategic Studies, Khalid Taimur Akram; Dean of NUML's Faculty of Foreign Languages, Prof. Jamil Asghar Jami; and others.

They spoke about Azerbaijan's historic victories in restoring sovereignty and territorial integrity, reconstruction and development efforts in the liberated territories, the return of former internally displaced persons as part of the Great Return program, and the importance of upholding constitutional values. The speakers also praised the strong and growing ties between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

The seminar concluded with a Q&A session where students engaged with the speakers on topics of interest.