ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat to Iran on Tuesday urged Pakistani nationals to keep their travel documents handy and advised students to plan ahead after Iranian universities rescheduled examinations to allow international students to leave, as weeks-long nationwide protests further intensified.
Iran has been gripped by protests since late December after shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their businesses to protest worsening economic conditions, triggered by the Iranian rial plunging to record lows against the US dollar.
The demonstrations quickly spread beyond the capital, with unrest reported in most of the country’s 31 provinces and involving traders, students and other groups.
Authorities have responded with arrests, use of force and Internet and mobile network disruptions, which rights groups say are aimed at curbing coordination and limiting coverage of the protests.
At least 100 Pakistani citizens, including students and pilgrims, have returned home through the Pakistan-Iran border in the southwestern province of Balochistan, a Pakistani official told Arab News on Tuesday, though many are still believed to be in the neighboring state.
