The Republic of Armenia and the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

have never had formal diplomatic relations. Pakistan is the only country in the world that does not recognize Armenia as a sovereign state, although most Pakistani people are not aware of this fact. It has maintained this position due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, despite the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan have always recognized each other as sovereign states ever since they both gained independence during the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991. Pakistan, which recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty in 1991, has declared that recognition of Armenia will be contingent on the Armenians relinquishing their claim to

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

, as well as an end to the Armenian presence in that disputed territory. Likewise, Pakistan openly supported Azerbaijan during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

and the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

; it has strongly advocated full Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has historically had an Armenian-majority population, though it is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan. Amidst the 2023 Azerbaijani military offensive, over 100,000 Armenians were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering the collapse of the Armenia-backed

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

has stated from local reports that there are between 50 and 1000 Armenians remaining in the region. On 20 September 2023, one day after Azerbaijan's offensive began, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry released an official statement reaffirming Pakistan's "unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan" in Nagorno-Karabakh. With the Republic of Artsakh no longer extant and the exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region, it is as of yet unclear what Pakistan's official position is on establishing diplomatic ties with the country.

History

Pakistan and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Pakistan was the third country, after

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, to recognize

, and has close relations with it as it relates to conflicts in the

region. Pakistan had supported Azerbaijan during the

. In 2015, Pakistan declared that recognizing Armenia's independence is contingent on the latter leaving Karabakh. In 2020, Pakistan supported Azerbaijan in the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

and hailed the subsequent ceasefire, which brought Azerbaijan territorial gains.

Armenia, Pakistan, and India

At the end of 2016, Armenian–Pakistani relations further deteriorated, and Armenia vetoed Pakistan's bid for observer status in the Russian-led

Collective Security Treaty Organization The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, ) is an Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Th ...

(CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly. In 2019 after an interview with WION,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

stated that Armenia supported

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

between India and Pakistan.

History

Pakistan and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenia, Pakistan, and India

See also

References

Further reading