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Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has said his country does not consider Armenia a state, AzerTac state news agency reported.

“We have always backed Azerbaijan`s fair position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pakistan does not recognize Armenia as a state,” he told chairman of Azerbaijan`s parliament Ogtay Asadov on the second day of his official visit to Baku.

The president added that the Upper House of Pakistan`s parliament, Senate, recognized what happened in Khojaly as genocide.

Pakistan supported Azerbaijan during and after the Nagorno-Karabakh War in early 1990s and it is one of the few countries that do not have any diplomatic relations Armenia due to the ongoing occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's lands.

President Hussain further hailed Azerbaijan`s providing assistance to Pakistan.

He also noted the importance of reciprocal visits by the two countries` business communities, saying “this will contribute to developing our ties even further”.

Asadov, for his part, described Azerbaijan and Pakistan as friendly and brotherly countries.

“We enjoy excellent relations. This visit will elevate our bilateral ties to a qualitatively new level. The people of Azerbaijan and Pakistan share common values, religion,” he said. “Pakistan is one of the first countries that recognized Azerbaijan`s independence. Azerbaijan and Pakistan have maintained diplomatic relations for 24 years.”

He hailed Pakistan`s backing official Baku`s position in international organizations, particularly related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Islamabad has not built any relations with Yerevan because of Armenia`s occupying Azerbaijani lands. And this is a sign of a friendly, brotherly attitude,” Asadov added.

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