This is the second time since the ceasefire of the “44 Day War” that Armenia is trying to gain some lost positions but the Azerbaijani army is protecting every inch of its motherland. There is no doubt that Armenia is always a loser though it always uses all kinds of tactics military as well as diplomatically. There is a saying that wars are fought by nations not only armies and are won by leaders, not by military Generals. This saying is cent percent true in the case of Azerbaijan as its Commander-in-Chief President Ilham Aliyev from the first day of his election as President of Azerbaijan made the liberation of ancient Karabakh a priority. From the day he was sworn in as President in October 2003, he stressed the importance of the unconditional liberation of illegally occupied lands. The 44 days Patriotic War that ended with the “Great Victory” of Azerbaijan is the brightest page in the history of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan moved towards the victory of Karabakh step by step, overcoming a multitude of difficulties and obstacles. The Azerbaijani Army did it under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. History itself testifies to how the work done during those 44 days was full of pride and honor.

The world understands that although the road to victory in the Patriotic War took 44 days, but this Victory was underpinned by years of the tireless, patient, and perseverant struggle of the Azerbaijani nation under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. His strong, clear-headed, and artful speeches in all meetings and international forums and his belief in strong propaganda helped the nation to stand under cloudy political weather. In the official document of “Strategy of Victory”, President Ilham Aliyev said: “We must not defend, but attack politically, from a propaganda point of view”. His words are enough to understand the force behind Azerbaijani media who had been defeating Armenian and their allies in media wars all over the world.

I have been closely working with Azerbaijani media for a long. I have seen that every journalist is a soldier of the motherland who is ready to sacrifice life to protect every inch of the country. Amazingly, state-run and private media work in synchronization in Azerbaijan when the matter comes to the country while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan always updates national as well as foreign media minute to minute whenever there are some important issues faced by Baku. Azerbaijan, as always, protects its territory politically, as well as physically, and is ready to do everything in this way, and dissemination and distribution of credible information about the war situation is one of the successful strategies of the Azerbaijani government.

Whenever I talk with my journalist friends in Azerbaijan, they very clearly explain that the goal of Azerbaijan is to ensure peace and stability in the region and that is why Azerbaijan has always been against war but Armenia always prefers provocations against peace negotiators. I have seen ruthless and senseless Armenian aggression even against graveyards. I cannot explain in words what I saw when I was traveling in liberated lands last year but I can just say that no normal human being can destroy culture and humanity as Armenians did in illegally occupied lands.

On November 6, 2021, When I came out of my vehicle and entered Jabrayil graveyard, I saw huge destruction —- excavated and destroyed graves. The scene was so overwhelming my voice choked in my throat. I could not cry even and only tears were flowing out of my eyes. My legs became lifeless and I could not stand anymore. I had no option just to sit near the remains of a grave and keep my eyes closed to feel what could happen here years ago. Why these graves were destroyed? What happened to these dwellers of the locality of the last resting place of human beings? What did happen to those who came here for their ultimate rest in their graves?

Armenia is again in an aggressive mood but it must remember the shameful defeat it faced recently and must remember that Azerbaijan is not alone and its friends would always protect its sovereignty. On September 14, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Armenia’s recent violations of a 2020 peace deal are “unacceptable,” and he also reiterated Türkiye’s support for Azerbaijan, saying that the world should know that Türkiye stands by its Azerbaijani brothers and sisters. Pakistan has also expressed its solidarity with Azerbaijan and Pakistan’s state-run media, as well as private media, stand with Azerbaijan to promote the cause of Azerbaijan which is nothing but just a desire for peace and let live peacefully.

Agha Iqrar Haroon