Pakistan-People-Opinion-Iran
Vast majority of Pakistanis would like to see Iran as a nuclear power and think that Iran should not bow before the international pressure over nuclear issue.

Western powers, especially the US, have been pressurizing Iran to roll back its nuclear programme, however, Iran being the member of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) refused to do so.

People in Pakistan say that West is against Iran's nuclear program only because it is an Islamic country and they (West) don't want to see an Islamic country as a nuclear power.

The Iranian government has been very successful in presenting the country's nuclear program as the cornerstone of its efforts to modernize the country and narrow the sharp technological divide with the West, in part because scientific and intellectual achievement are highly valued in Iranian culture.

The government of Pakistan believes that Iran has a right to use nuclear energy for peaceful means as per the regulations of IAEA but this should not be channeled towards making nuclear weapons.

A local journalist Aftab said that anti-US sentiment is very strong in the Islamic world and the people of Pakistan are very sympathetic towards Iran. However, our government is somehow pragmatic in expressing its point of view on Iran, he said.

Asif, a university student, said that Iran's relations with Pakistan have been strained since 1990s when Islamabad supported Taliban in Afghanistan. The other thing which disturbs Pak-Iran relations is strategic linking of Pakistan with the US .

"Why Iran should allow the inspection of its nuclear program?, It is an independent state and every state has a right to explore its resources, Iran should have a nuclear program, a local cleric said.

A school teacher Ahmed said that Western approach might be able to influence a small weak power but a power like Iran which is blessed with enormous energy resources, dictation is likely to produce exactly the opposite result.

Pakistani people at large condemn the US contradictory policies, they say that US is not concerned about the nuclear program of North Korea but wants to dismantle Iran's nuclear program which is unfair.

People in Pakistan mostly are not influenced by Western propaganda against Iran and openly support Iran's nuclear program.