Azerbaijan rebuilds liberated territories - view from Pakistan

In the article for Global Village Space, Nabya Shahid, a producer at a leading Pakistani channel narrates how Armenia tried its best to eliminate Azerbaijan's cultural traces. However, it failed. Azerbaijan successfully took back its territories and started a series of projects to revamp the areas destroyed by Armenia. Azerbaijan fought its way out despite Armenia’s hatred for it. Azerbaijan did not war for a piece of land but fought for the restoration of its culture, heritage, history, sovereignty, and above all, its dignity. Armenia’s tactic to wipe off Azerbaijan by vandalizing its dynasty and culture would have easily wiped off Azerbaijan from the world map. However, Azerbaijan realizing that, gathered all its zeal and excitement and fought with great enthusiasm and passion. It not only got its territories back but also succeeded in restoring its prestigious culture and history.

Right after liberating illegal Armenian-occupied territories, the Government of Azerbaijan efficiently started a series of projects to revamp the whole infrastructure that Armenia had demolished completely.

How Armenia turned Fuzuli into a ghost town

The town of Fuzuli, once a prosperous agricultural area, has become a forest after the Armenian occupation. The area was completely wrecked by Armenia’s government during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, the city of Fuzuli was liberated by Azerbaijan on 17th October 2020 and Azerbaijan did a fantastic job in the reconstruction and restoration of destroyed buildings. The excruciating part is, the Armenian government did not even try to invest in the infrastructure or for the betterment of residents, instead they only vandalized the lands. The Armenian government destroyed the entire infrastructure of Fuzuli. Not a single building left behind is in normal shape. As for the Fuzuli Airport, it is one of the country’s seven international airports. In 1993, Armenians took over this place and turned it into a ghost place. Azerbaijan, post-liberation turned the ghost place into an international airport within months. On 14 January 2021, the groundbreaking ceremony for the future airport took place. Fuzuli airport has one 3,000 M long runway and a capacity of almost 200 passengers an hour. It is located 100 KM southeast of Shusha. The government of Azerbaijan believes that the airport will boost the region’s economy and primarily service Shusha. President Ilham Aliyev, during his visit, said: “The construction of this airport started this year, possibly no airport in the world has been built at this speed.”

Clearing out land mines from Horadiz village

Our next stop Horadiz, which is another liberated territory by Azerbaijan, was destructed by Armenians. They not only destroyed the village but also installed land mines in the region. Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) and the engineering unit of Azerbaijani Armed Forces, with the help of Emergency Situations Ministry, Border Services Command, and Special Mine Clearance teams of Turkish Armed Forces, fearlessly and effortlessly cleared the mines from Karabagh Region and surrounding areas. The land mines are found manually through hands, sniffing dogs, and machinery and technical support. The Mine Team also demonstrated an explosion of mines for Pakistani Journalist Delegation. 

Ganja: Armenia’s attack on civilians

Ganja is the second largest city in Azerbaijan which was attacked by Armenia targeting civilians. The attacks on Ganja alarmed the Azerbaijan Government since no military base was targeted but the aim was to attack civilians. Armenia carried out almost 8 missile attacks on Ganja, killing several innocent civilians. The missile attacks destroyed various buildings and houses, deteriorating the map of Azerbaijan. “We have been living in fear for days, we tried to hide from the attack but it was useless.” Family of the deceased person expressed.

Military Commanders should pick out a method of attack that is strictly directed at Army objectives so it will minimize incidental harm to civilians. If the weapons used are so misguided that they cannot be directed at military objectives without any substantial threat to civilians, then they should not be used in the first place. The main motive behind attacking civilians was to exert pressure on Azerbaijan’s government. The purpose was to scare off the Azeri civilians so they ask their government and military to back off, but they didn’t and fully supported their government. Today, with this very trust and bravery of residents, Azerbaijan has liberated its illegally occupied territories.

The missile attack on Victory Park  

I got a chance to visit the Victory Park in Ganja, which was attacked at 2:00 AM via rocket missile by the Armenia Military. The sight of this park was no lesser than a cemetery. The deteriorated buildings and their remains, shattered glasses, toys, and teddies broke my heart. When Azerbaijan’s forces went to the spot to rescue the victims, they found an Armenian woman who was wounded terribly in the attack. Azerbaijan showed empathy towards the Armenian woman and took care of all her treatments. I also met a cute and intelligent boy named “Bakhtiyar, one of the most prominent survivors of this missile attack. Armenia’s barbaric attack on Victory Park killed 26 civilians including 6 children. In addition, 127 civilians, including 29 children were seriously injured.