Pakistan congratulates Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh military campaign

Pakistan on Tuesday congratulated Azerbaijan on its military campaign to retake the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan and Armenia recently signed a Russian-brokered agreement to end more than a month of fighting.

"We congratulate the government and brotherly people of Azerbaijan on the liberation of their territories," read a statement from Pakistan's foreign ministry.

"Pakistan has consistently supported the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh dispute in accordance with international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," the statement added.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Yerevan, since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Heavy fighting erupted in the contested region in late September - the biggest escalation of the conflict in a quarter-century. The fighting has left hundreds, possibly thousands, dead.

A Moscow-brokered agreement came after a string of Azerbaijani victories in its fight to retake the ethnic Armenian enclave.

It sparked celebrations in Azerbaijan but fury in Armenia, where protesters took to the streets to denounce their leaders for the loss of the territory, which broke from Azerbaijan's control during a war in the early 1990s.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deal in the early hours of Tuesday.

Pashinyan described the agreement as "unspeakably painful for me and for our people", while Aliyev said it amounted to a "capitulation" by Armenia.

The full text of the deal showed clear gains for Azerbaijan.

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