Pakistan media hail Rouhani’s victory

'The News' in its editorial comments said that landslide re-election victory of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is a ringing endorsement of his efforts.

It added that the turnout was among the highest ever in Iran’s history, with more than 70 percent of eligible voters showing up at the polls.

“The nuclear deal with the US was the greatest achievement of his first term,” it said.

The paper said that now that the Iranian people have shown that they are firmly behind Rouhani, he will probably have greater power to implement his vision.

Daily ‘Dawn’ said Hassan Rouhani’s victory shows that the Iranian people want to give him another chance at realising his vision as he managed to secure nearly 60pc of the vote, with a respectable turnout of around 70pc of the electorate.

“Of course, the crowning achievement of the first Rouhani administration was 2015’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1,” it said.

It added that with Rouhani’s re-election, the Iranian people have indicated that they favor the path of dialogue and want to avoid confrontation.

“The US should realise that Iran is a major regional player and all outstanding issues with the Islamic Republic should be dealt with on the negotiating table,” it viewed.

Another daily ‘Express Tribune’ said that Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani has racked up a resounding victory in Friday’s presidential election.

“Mr Rouhani navigated his country through the economic crisis, reducing inflation to 10 per cent from a perilous 40 per cent and stabilising the currency exchange rate,” it noted.

It said that Rouhani was also able to clinch a nuclear deal for Iran, attracted foreign investment and under his watch, oil exports doubled as a consequence of the nuclear agreement.

‘Daily Times’ said that being a reformist, Hassan Rouhani supports liberalising Iran’s economic policy and encouraging foreign direct investment. This serves Pakistan’s interests well, especially in terms of importing energy resources.

“Rouhani has also said he wants to join China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a move that Beijing is said to support and that will also benefit Pakistan both in economic terms as well as in consolidating a solid framework to resist US hegemony in the region,” it viewed.

It said that Pakistan and all Muslim and regional nations and even the US should take the first step in strengthening ties with Iran. “The Iranian people have spoken, now it remains up to the rest of the world,” it said.

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