Though there are a few genuine problems with the Iranian regime, the fault-lines are being systematically targeted through media-framing and threat-perception building in an orchestrated manner which, in turn, fuels unrest by mobilizing the populace, both domestically and internationally. This was observed during a session, titled ‘The Current Unrest in Iran and its Impact on Pakistan and the Region’, held at the Institute of Policy Studies.
The session was addressed by Iran affairs experts Ambassador (r) Asif Durrani and Dr. Nazir Hussain, dean faculty of social sciences and humanities, University of Wah, besides Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS, and Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, vice chairman IPS.
The speakers were of the view that continuity of such political instability and unrest in Iran would have implications for Pakistan and the region. Moreover, the Western world, by making Iran’s unrest a pivotal debate, may produce a fallout in Pakistan and exploit its fault-lines revolving around internal issues. The speakers emphasized that in order to preempt these implications, exploitation, and media framing, it is crucial that there is unity and less polarization between all religious and political elements of Pakistan.
The speakers were of the view that incidents that caused unrest are not new for Iran but, at times, an increased level of turmoil provides an opportunity for entities to exploit it to fulfill their ulterior agendas and corner elements which are a bigger threat or problem. The current unrest in Iran follows the same trend and is of interest to many global players for varied reasons entailing domestic or international agendas.
