Dr.Syed Mehboob
Economic and Political Analyst
http//:www.thenewslark.com
email:drmehboob.thenewslark@gmail.com
Before 1979 Iran was completely under the immense influence of Western culture and was the center of American interests in Asia. It lost its own identity of values, culture, and religion. The rulers and people became blind followers of Western culture. It preferred to protect American interests in the region ignoring its own interests and became a puppet at the hands of a superpower. There was no freedom of expression, no democracy, and the country was under a harsh dictatorship yet it was the darling of the USA and the West. Then emerged a ray of hope for people and it was the dynamic, honest, and sincere leadership of the late Imam Khomeini.
Imam Khomeini changed the entire scenario after his return to Iran from his exile enlightening the minds and hearts of people with the Islamic revolution and making a new history. Since then Iran did not look back, and moved forward and we see an array of achievements in 45 years after the revolution. All the credit goes to the dedicated, committed, enlightened, sincere leadership of Iran after the revolution. Iranian leadership pursued unanimous objectives in its uprising, which were translated into three aspects, namely, independence, freedom, and Islamic governance. The Islamic Republic no doubt is the greatest achievement of the four decades of the Islamic Revolution. Through the four decades of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 38 elections have been held, including three referendums, 13 presidential elections, 11 parliamentary elections, 5 Assembly of Experts Elections, 6 Elections for city and village councils, and an election for the constitution.Iran followed Islamic democratic principles. Its democracy is accompanied by spirituality and religion; it became the Islamic Republic. The message of the Islamic Revolution is the message of spirituality, brotherhood, and integrity, bringing the elements of spirituality into human life and heeding morality and firm belief in Allah. The Islamic Revolution shook the body of colonialism and global imperialism. It made people’s minds free from all kinds of oppression, and blind following of the Western culture and enhanced their spirituality, independent thinking, innovation, and exploration.
There are many features of economic achievements and successes. Iran reduced its dependence on oil revenue and changed its economic driver from oil to innovative, services, and manufacturing sectors, and Iran’s non-oil exports increased by 54% in 2021-22. For the last more than forty years Iran bore illegal, inhuman sanctions imposed by the West and the USA because Iranian people and leadership refused to bow down their heads before foreign intervention and dictation. Iran exhibited great resilience and resistance in this regard.
After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the length of roads in Iran has increased to more than 215,000 km and it ranks 26th in the world, it has 739 commercial ships and ranks 30th in the world. In addition to logistics infrastructure, it has very strong industrial infrastructure too. Iran’s steel production flourished after the Islamic Revolution and the rate of growth was eighteen times more than the world’s average rate. Iran is ranked the world’s 10th biggest steel producer in the world as per the report of the World Steel Association in 2021. Its annual cement production capacity is 80 million metric tonnes. It ranked 7th most cement producer country in the world. Among the world’s top Iran stands 18th place producing 880,997 vehicles in 2021 and 1.6 million vehicles in 2022. It also started producing electric buses. After the Islamic Revolution, fruit production increased 20 times. Iran is the first and the largest exporter of agricultural products like barberry, pistachio, caviar, and saffron in the world. The country is 2nd largest exporter of dates and apricots. It is the third largest exporter of other fruits like cherries, watermelons, melons, apples, and figs. All these achievements have been achieved due to Iran’s advances in science and technology. In this regard, Iranian scientists have gained great achievements in the newfound fields of stem cells, nanotechnology, space science nuclear energy science, robotics, etc.
There are 737 innovative and creative companies, 118 innovative centers, 5,222 knowledge-based companies, and 49 technology accelerators which are the main driving force for the development of new technologies in Iran. 321 companies are active in nanotechnology in Iran which has developed 834 Nano Products. In a report,” Towards the year 2030” which is about the scientific advancements of countries, UNESCO indicated that Iran is the most advanced country in the Middle East and in the Muslim World in nanotechnology. Iran is now exporting surgical robots and drones to other countries.
Iranian women unlike Western propaganda which is part of Islamophobia and media war, have made astonishing progress in achieving a women’s literacy rate which is 84% and 97% of Iranian girls have access to quality education. The employment rate of Iranian women is 80%, of which more than 20,000 Iranian women are professors at various universities. Iranian women have also a presence in sports and there are about 140,000 women professional athletes. Some of them won Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Iran with 23 cultural heritage sites is one of the 10 countries with the most cultural heritage sites in UNESCO’s world heritage list. With diverse natural attractions like mountains, lakes, caves, forests, etc., Iran is a very attractive place for tourists. About 9 million tourists visited Iran in 2020.Iran also attracts 600,000 health tourists annually.
On Saturday 10th February2024 a magnificent gathering was held on the auspicious occasion of the “45th Anniversary of The Victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution “ at the Consulate General of Iran which was graced by many dignitaries including Consul Generals of Qatar, Oman, Turkiye, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Yemen, caretaker minister forTourism, Environment, Climate Change Mr. Arshad Wali Muhammad, Consul General of Iran H.E Hassan Nourain highlighted the significance and importance of this day and retrieved the leadership’s pledge to continue struggle to further develop Iran and to have strong and friendly ties with brother country Pakistan. Mr. Hassan Nourain is a dynamic, down-to-earth, and committed diplomat and is very much liked by the business, intellectual, and social communities of Pakistan.
The News Lark is committed to promotingPakistan-Iran relations and is rendering valuable services and I, as Senior Research Editor and Analyst produced dozens of articles, research reports, a poem on Iran which was presented to the Foreign Minister of Iran His Excellency Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahain on 4th August2023.These were historical moments and I will always remember them as Dr. Hosssein Amirabdullhain embraced martyrdom in Azerbaijan along with President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi on 19th May 2024.
In the current global scenario, Pakistan and Iran’s relations are very important and there is a need for coordination between the intelligence agencies of both countries to cooperate to root out terrorism from the region as both countries are victims of terrorism. There is also a need to make further efforts to enhance bilateral trade volume and to bring the business communities closer. There aremany lessons for Pakistan, its leadership, and its people to learn from the Iranian revolution how this country developed itself wonderfully despite inhumane sanctions fromthe USA and other Western countries against it and it relied on its resources and made its way to counter all the efforts to isolate Iran among international communities. Iran is an important country in the region similar is Pakistan, and strong bilateral relations and cooperation between them are in the larger interest of the Ummah and I hope with time both countries will move forward towards strong and strategic relations. ( In shah Allah)
