Polad Hashimov

In November 1992, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Polad Hashimov fought in and successfully defended the villages of Marzili and Novruzlu in the Aghdam District, Azerbaijan. Hashimov, who was training with the 702nd Motorized Rifle Brigade, participated in the Operation Murovdagh in February 1994[8] as a battalion commander.[9] He clashed with the Armenian forces in the Guzgu, Koroghlu, and Omar military posts, located in the Murovdagh range.[8]

After the signing of the Bishkek Protocol, which virtually ended the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Hashimov started serving in the military units stationed on the front-line of a frozen conflict with Armenia, and the self-declared Republic of Artsakh. He served for many years as commanders of the military units stationed in Barda, Dashkasan, Haji Zeynalabdin, Murovdagh, and Shamkir.[4][10] From 1995 to 2017, Hashimov held various positions, from motorised rifle squadron commander to a military unit commander.[8] Hashimov was promoted to a major in 2003, and in 2009, to a lieutenant colonel.[11]

On 1 April 2016, heavy fighting broke out between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, known as the Four-Day War.[12] During the clashes, Hashimov served as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 1st Army Corps. He commanded the Azerbaijani forces stationed in Tartar District, and during night operations, his forces advanced towards Talish, capturing several strategic points and heights.[13] He was wounded during the clashes. One of the military posts seized by Hashimov near Talış was later renamed to Polad, in honour of Hashimov.[10] According to the Turkish military expert Abdullah Ağar, the Azerbaijani military command ordered Hashimov to withdraw from the territories he had seized during the hostilities. After a ceasefire was reached on the front-line, Hashimov resigned immediately, but the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, intervened and did not allow him to resign.[14]

In 2017, Polad Hashimov was appointed as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Corps.[8] On 24 June 2019, President Aliyev promoted Hashimov to a major general, the highest military rank in the Azerbaijani Army.[15] At the same time, Hashimov became the first Gabalani general after the 19th-century Azerbaijani military officer of the Imperial Russian Army, Ismayil bek Kutkashensky.[16]

On 12 July,[17] skirmishes erupted on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan,[18] mainly in the Tavush Province of Armenia and the Tovuz District of Azerbaijan.[19]

Hashimov commanded the Azerbaijani forces during the clashes. In the first hours of the hostilities, 3 Azerbaijani servicemen were killed and 4 more were wounded.[20][21]

The clashes continued next day, mainly through artillery and drones, without infantry,[22] and the Azerbaijani authorities stated that their forces had "neutralised" more than 20 Armenian servicemen, and destroyed several Armenian firing positions, battalion headquarters, and other military targets.[23] Overall, at least 17 military personnel and one civilian was confirmed to be killed during the skirmishes.[24]

Hashimov's grave in the Second Alley of Honor in Baku.

Further skirmished occurred at night, and continued into the morning of 14 July. During the skirmishes in the morning of 14 July, seven Azerbaijani servicemen, six of them being officers, were killed.[25] On the same day, the deputy defence minister of Azerbaijan, Karim Valiyev, made a live statement, saying that Hashimov, as well as colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, were among the fallen Azerbaijani officers. According to him, about 100 Armenian servicemen were killed, and a large number of military equipment and important facilities belonging to the Armenian forces were destroyed in retaliation.[26]

Polad Hashimov is the first and only general of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces who was killed during military operations. Before him, Ismat Gayibov, the first Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, and Mahammad Asadov, major general of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, were both killed in November 1991 when the Mil Mi-8 helicopter they were in was shot down by the Armenian forces.[27]

On July 14, at noon, Hashimov's body was brought to Vandam, then was brought to Sumgayit, where he lived.[28] He was buried alongside colonel Mirzayev, on 15 July in the Second Alley of Honor in Baku.[29] Azerbaijan's minister of defence, Zakir Hasanov, chief of general staff, Najmaddin Sadigov, and, the mayor of Baku, Eldar Azizov, attended the funeral.[30][31] On the same day, President Ilham Aliyev had a telephone conversation with Hashimov's mother, expressing his deep condolences to her.[32]

When Hashimov's body was taken to his house in Sumgayit,[49] a crowd of hundreds of people from different parts of the city gathered in front of Hashimov's house, with hundreds of demonstrators chanting pro-army slogans.[50] The demonstrations spread to others parts of Baku,[51] with about 50 thousand demonstrators being present.[52] They first marched to Freedom Square, then to the Martyrs' Lane but were not allowed enter it,[53] or the National Assembly of Azerbaijan.[54] The Baku Police did not allow vehicles to enter the area to ensure the crowd's safety.[55] The demonstrators, waving the Azerbaijani flag, called for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic related quarantine, mobilisation and a war against Armenia to retake the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.[56][57] There were smaller rallies in support of the military in other cities around Azerbaijan, usually connected to the burials of fallen soldiers.[58]

Azerbaijani demonstrators in front of the Mosque of the Martyrs near the Parliament building on 14 July.

After the initial demonstrations, a smaller group reached the front of the National Assembly on the night of 14 and 15 July. Apart from support for the army and calls for war,[55] the demonstrators demanded the resignation of the chief of general staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the deputy minister of defence, Najmeddin Sadikov,[54] who was suspected of giving the coordinates of Hashimov's location to the Armenian authorities, leading to his death.[59][60] At around 01:00, street lights were turned off in front of the Parliament building. However, the demonstrators protested this by turning their phone lights and whistling. Although a representative from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence arrived to address the crowd, the demonstrators did not allow him to speak and demanded that the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, come and speak.[54] At around 04:00, riots broke out, during which police cars were overturned.[61] Several demonstrators breached the National Assembly, protesting the government's inaction.[62] They smashed windows and chandeliers inside, but security forces later evicted them. A BBC Azerbaijani Service correspondent at the scene reported that although there were guards inside, they did not interfere with the crowd.[55] According to a report by the Azerbaijani Parliament, the demonstrators damaged a number of items in the Parliament worth 22,150 AZN in total.[63][64] The Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs accused the demonstrators of deliberately disobeying the demands of police officers and attacking them with stones and other objects. As a result, seven police officers were injured, two service cars of the State Traffic Police Department were overturned and rendered useless, fourteen more service cars and the road infrastructure in the area were seriously damaged.[55] After that, security forces used water cannons, tear gas and batons to disperse those gathered in front of the Parliament building.[65] Other demonstrators tried to convince police to join them.[58] The demonstrators moved towards Martyrs' Lane and continued protesting there. They began to disperse in the early morning near Baku Boulevard and Freedom Square.[54] According to Turan, an independent Azerbaijani news agency, several hundred protesters then marched, escorted by police, to the Nariman Narimanov Monument and the building of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes, before dispersing.[65]

The preliminary investigation over the arrests was completed on 11 September. 37 people were prosecuted, officially charged with intentionally causing minor bodily harm, intentionally destroying or damaging another's property, violating public order, and resisting or using force against a government official.[66] Despite this, according to other Azerbaijani sources, as many as 120 people were detained after the protests, including members of the NIDA Civic Movement and journalists.[67][68]

Honorary Decree named after Shah Ismail Khatai given to Hashimov in the 1990s.

In late July, further protests erupted in Hashimov's native Vandam, when the local officials removed the Azerbaijani flag hanging from the door of Hashimov's house. Ilham Baghirov, the representative of the Gabala District Executive Power in Vandam, stated that the flag was temporarily removed and planned to be hung on a pole to be buried in front of the house.[69]

The protests are believed to have led to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War later in September of the same year.[70][71][72]