On February 18, 2011, Veliyev was appointed mayor of
Ganja. He was previously Head of the
Yevlakh City Executive, during which time
Avaz Zeynallı and Vugar Gurdganli were arrested for libelling Valiyev. He held the post from 26 March 2004 to 18 February 2011.
Assassination attempt and dismissal On July 3, 2018, Valiyev was seriously wounded in an
assassination attempt. It was the first assassination attempt on a government official in
Azerbaijan in 25 years. During the investigation of his assassination attempt, it was found out that Tawhid Ibrahim Begli, leader of the
Islamic Resistance Movement of Azerbaijan, called for his assassination. Valiyev had a controversial reputation in Ganga for seizing citizens' homes and demolishing them to create new buildings. Ali Hasanov, an adviser to the President, stated that foreign media had been working to create an Islamophobic and anti-Shiite image of Valiyev, which led to the attack. He was relieved of his duties by
President Ilham Aliyev in August 2018. In March 2019, fourteen people were tried over the attempt, which was closed to the public. == Awards and honours ==