Overview
- Pakistani troops marched and JF-17 fighter jets flew in Azerbaijan’s Victory Day parade in Baku as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended alongside President Ilham Aliyev and Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Shehbaz and Aliyev reviewed bilateral ties and agreed to expand cooperation in politics, trade, energy, connectivity and defence, with Aliyev accepting an invitation to visit Pakistan.
- Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir joined the delegation, underscoring a defence-focused dimension to the visit and recent joint activities such as the Indus Shield Alpha air exercise.
- In his parade address, Shehbaz said Pakistan seeks peace but will not compromise sovereignty and credited Azerbaijan and Türkiye for support during a recent four-day conflict with India, claiming Pakistan’s air force shot down seven enemy aircraft.
- On the sidelines, Shehbaz met Erdogan to advance Pakistan–Türkiye cooperation, while in Islamabad he met Iran’s parliamentary speaker to emphasize Muslim unity, counterterrorism coordination and stronger economic ties.