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 Armenia |  Pakistan |
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TheRepublic of Armenia and theIslamic Republic of Pakistan establishedbilateral relations on 31 August 2025.[1][2]
Prior to establishment of diplomatic relations, it was widely held that Pakistan did not recognize Armenia as a state, owing to its close support for Azerbaijan and Turkey. The non-recognition seems to have been a political mistake that went unaddressed for decades (as most Pakistanis were not aware of this non-recognition[3] and the topic of Armenia was barely discussed in Pakistan’s domestic discourse).
Historically, Pakistan refused to "recognize" Armenia due to theNagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia andAzerbaijan, despite the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan have always recognised each other as sovereign states ever since they both gained independence during thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Pakistan, which recognised Azerbaijani sovereignty in 1991, declared that recognition of Armenia would be contingent on the Armenians relinquishing their claim toNagorno-Karabakh, as well as an end to the Armenian military presence in that disputed territory. Likewise, Pakistan openly supported Azerbaijan during theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War and theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War; it has strongly advocated full Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has historically had an Armenian-majority population, though it is internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan.
Amidst the2023 Azerbaijani military offensive, over100,000 Armenians were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh,[4] triggering the collapse of the Armenia-backedRepublic of Artsakh. TheUnited Nations has stated from local reports that there are between 50 and 1000 Armenians remaining in the region.[5] On 20 September 2023, one day after Azerbaijan's offensive began, thePakistani Foreign Ministry released an official statement reaffirming Pakistan's "unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan" in Nagorno-Karabakh.[6][7]
Pakistan was the third country, afterTurkey andRomania, to recognizeAzerbaijan, and has close relations with it as it relates to conflicts in theNagorno-Karabakh region. Pakistan had supported Azerbaijan during theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War. In 2015, Pakistan declared that recognizing Armenia's independence is contingent on the latter's military leaving Karabakh.[8] In 2020, Pakistan supported Azerbaijan in theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War and hailed the subsequent ceasefire, which brought Azerbaijan territorial gains.[9]
At the end of 2016, Armenian–Pakistani relations further deteriorated, and Armenia vetoed Pakistan's bid for observer status in the Russian-ledCollective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly.[10][11][12]
In 2019 after an interview withWION,Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia supportedIndia in theKashmir conflict between India and Pakistan.[13]
On 8 August 2025, theArmenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement was signed, which settled the Karabakh conflict and the primary bone of contention between Pakistan and Armenia.
On 31 August 2025, Armenia and Pakistan formally established diplomatic relations.[14] Formal relations were established through a jointcommunique between Armenian Foreign MinisterArarat Mirzoyan and Pakistani Foreign MinisterIshaq Dar on the sidelines of the2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit inTianjin,China.[15]
The mission saw very few local population remaining in the city. The team heard from interlocutors that between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians remain in the Karabakh region.
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