Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan: Axis of evil!

A new type of polarization is seen in the Islamic world, where the Caliphate of Turkey came to an end after the First World War, and the existence of the Khalifa, as the head of the Islamic Millat, also disappeared from the global scenario. But now Erdogan has once again become the champion of Islamic fundamentalism and is again fully indulged in bringing Millat under his flag. In the armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia last year, Turkey tried its best to assume the role of protector and Pakistan, the largest military power in the Islamic world, now leaving the ranks of Saudi Arabia, and shift its allegiance towards Saudis enemy at large, Turkey.

 

In order to show solidarity with Azerbaijan, the Chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Mujahid Anwar Khan met the Chief of the Azerbaijan Air Force, Lt. Gen. Ramiz Tahirov in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in which he reiterated the promise of Pakistani support. Along with this, in a meeting with the Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, Pakistan was given to Azerbaijan assurance for providing JF-17 thunder warplanes. It is notable that in the next stop of the same visit when Mujahid Anwar said in Turkey that Pakistan and Turkey "not only share a shared culture and belief, but they also have common interests and challenges." At the same time, the Air Force Chief said that Pakistan fully supports Turkey on Cyprus and other regional issues and also appreciated Turkey's support to Azerbaijan during the conflict with Armenia to liberate the occupied territories for 30 years. It is noteworthy that Islamic unity has been the basis of Pakistan's bilateral and multilateral relations. The decision to join the CENTO or Baghdad Pact in 1955 may have served as a shield against communism, but in fact, it established an Islamic Intimacy of Pakistan with Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri Saeed. Since then Pakistan has been playing an active role in many such organizations.

Armenia has had an old dispute with Azerbaijan. The conflict between them arose from a territorial dispute over the territorial part of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1988, representatives at the local council of Karabakh voted in favor of the merger of the region with Armenia, which was ratified by further referendums in 1991 and followed by a military confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan that lasted until 1994. But on 27 September 2020, the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia rebounded in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories, in which Azerbaijan reclaimed a large part of Nagorno-Karabakh and most of its surrounding areas. On November 10, 2020, a tripartite ceasefire agreement was signed between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia, which forced Armenia to return all remaining occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh.

 

Azerbaijan is situated in a geopolitically unstable region, surrounded by powerful and influential neighbors all around who are motivated by various interests and who are keen to bring Azerbaijan under their sphere of influence. To the north is Russia, which opposes the independence of Azerbaijan and considers it as its backyard. Azerbaijan has strong economic, political, cultural, and ideological ties with the West. In terms of economic cooperation, Western companies have benefited from Azerbaijani energy resources. It is notable that Israel is the second-largest importer of this country's oil after Italy, Azerbaijan supplies 40% of Israel's oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

But how does the small Central Asian country Azerbaijan affect India? This is an interesting question. Pakistan was second only to Turkey in recognition of Azerbaijan as an independent country in the early 1990s. Also, Pakistan is the only country that does not recognize Armenia - a move it has taken to demonstrate its solidarity with Baku. At the same time, along with Turkey, Pakistan is also strengthening military ties with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Turkey have consistently supported each other in various international forums on matters of national interest such as Kashmir, Cyprus, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Along with this, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has been advocating for Pakistan on many issues like alleged human rights violations in the Kashmir region. But there is another fact which has not come to light yet. That is that Azerbaijan is now becoming a big bastion of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. And Pakistan's role is most prominent in this. Azerbaijan has become a suitable place for the placement of its newly fledged "terrorist graduates", educated in radical Islam in the madrassas of Pakistan. Recently Armenia Deputy Foreign Minister Avett Adonts told an Indian news channel that there was a possibility that "Islamic jihadists have been sent by Pakistan to Azerbaijan's army. They said that terrorists of Pakistani origin were in Nagorno-Karabakh are in the same role as they were in the early 90s. Many sources are reporting that large amounts of combatants from Pakistan have arrived in Azerbaijan from Pakistan via Turkey. Armenia's political and defense analyst William Bairamian, who is also the editor of The Armenite, told Indian news agency IANS that there is "abundant evidence" that Azerbaijan is using jihadist mercenaries. Bairamian believes President Ilham Aliyev, rules like dictators, who are already facing public outrage over issues such as corruption, aggressive attacks on the opposition and the media, the ruining economy and mismanagement of the Corona epidemic. Protect against damage as well as Azerbaijan has the most accessible means of terror to strengthen its position. And Pakistan and Turkey also have a large number of jihadi militants in such conflict zones.

Deadly alliances between Pakistan and Turkey are not only deadly for stability in Central Asia but are becoming a dangerous trend around the world. Erdogan's relationship with ISIS is well-known as how his son has been filling their pockets with the sale of oil brought from the ISIS-controlled Mosul oil fields. In such a situation, the Pakistan-Turkey alliance is becoming a factor of concern not only for this region but also for the world.