Azerbaijan has made a very choice backing Pakistan a rogue, Terrorist State
Azerbaijan, egged on by Khalifa Erdogan took a considered decision to openly back Pakistani claims over Kashmir an integral part of India. It also ignored the terror angle completely and thus its support for terrorism has led to a sharp deterioration in its relationship with India. This shift not only threatens Baku’s economic interests but also risks isolating Azerbaijan diplomatically not only in South Asia but soon all over Asia.
Azerbaijan’s stand is not new. It is the third country, after Pakistan and Turkey, to consistently raise the Kashmir issue on international platforms. In the past year alone, two high-profile visits by Azerbaijani leaders to Pakistan-President Ilham Aliyev in July and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in May was noticed by not only the media but even the Policy Makers.
The implications of this policy will soon become very clear to Azerbaijan, as pay back time has come. Till now there has been robust economic ties between India and Azerbaijan. By 2023, India had become Azerbaijan’s seventh-largest trading partner, the third-largest destination for Azerbaijani crude oil, and the largest source of tourists for Azerbaijan.
After the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Azerbaijan began to intensify it support for Pakistan. The roots of Azerbaijan’s affinity for Pakistan may be historical and also strategic. Pakistan was among the first to recognise Azerbaijan’s independence after the Soviet Union’s dissolution and quickly established diplomatic ties.
Their relationship deepened in recent years, specially after Pakistan’s unequivocal support for Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which included political, moral, and defence assistance. Azerbaijan credits both Turkey and Pakistan for its “victory” over Armenia, and the three countries have since fostered a “brotherhood” based on shared geopolitical and ideological interests.
Both Turkey and Azerbaijan publicly supported Pakistan’s during Operation Sindoor, thus further cementing Baku’s alignment with Islamabad. This support has been reiterated in various forums, especially at meetings of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where Azerbaijan has always been very vocal.
Thus by aligning itself with Islamabad, Baku has not only shown a lack of sympathy for the victims of terrorism but has also lent overt support to what Indians consider a rogue, terrorist state.
So boycott of Ajerbaijan spearheaded by organisations such as the Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT), is a direct response to Azerbaijan’s open and unconditional support for Pakistan, particularly in the context of Pakistan’s proxy war and terrorist activities targeting India.
Azerbaijan’s recent actions now threaten to undermine a billion-dollar bilateral trade relationship with India that has historically been in Baku’s favour. While India’s exports to Azerbaijan in FY2024-25 stood at $86.07 million-just 0.02% of India’s total exports-trade has already contracted to 16% of previous levels, reflecting the growing chill in relations.
India will also further strengthen its ties with Armenia. India’s support for Armenia will now be several notches higher than what was during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. its growing diplomatic and defense partnership with Yerevan, and significant increase on defense exports (including more Akash missiles, artillery guns etc ) will further strengthen Armenian defences.
Whereas despite the political, diplomatic, and ideological closeness between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the economic relationship between Baku and Islamabad is relatively modest-about one-fifth the size of India-Azerbaijan trade.
The fallout from Azerbaijan’s stance is already visible. Indian traders have begun boycotting Azerbaijani products, and there has been a noticeable decline in trade and tourism between the two countries. This economic backlash, if sustained, could have significant consequences for Azerbaijan, given its reliance on Indian trade and tourism.
As a responsible member of the international community, Azerbaijan is being urged to reconsider its alignment with Pakistan, respect India’s sovereignty, and refrain from interfering in India’s internal matters, especially given the heavy toll terrorism has taken on innocent lives in Kashmir.
