KARACHI, Feb 6: The representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader in Pakistan, Syed Abul Fazal Bahauddini, has warned that Iran will not tolerate any attack on its sovereignty.

Speaking at a function organized by the Khana-i-Farhang Jamhoori Islami Iran on Saturday evening to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, the key leader said in Persian that Ayatollah Khomeini had converted an ordinary people of Iran into a nation prepared for martyrdom at all times. He used a Saying of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to illustrate his point. His remarks were translated into Urdu by a religious scholar.

Mr Bahauddini, who at first was reluctant to speak at the function and rose to his feet only when the audience urged him to say a few words, heaped praises on Ayatollah Khomeini, saying that bringing about a revolution was not difficult, but becoming a Khomeini was extremely difficult.

Earlier, the director of the Khana-i-Farhang, Syed Bahauddin Biladi, said that whenever a new era started in the history of humankind, people could not help becoming impressed with it. He added that many people all over the world were impressed with the Iranian revolution of 1979, suggesting that this era should be called "The age of Imam Khomeini".

Syed Rashid Ahad observed that the revolution brought about by Ayatollah Khomeini led to the establishment of a culture in Iran which was in defiance of materialistic culture obtaining all over the world. He added that the two main components of Western civilization were arrogance and hegemony. He recalled that in the pre-revolution period it was widely believed that a third-world country must align itself with either of the two blocs then ruling the world. He said that the 1979 revolution of Iran debunked this myth.

Dr Zahid Ali Zahidi employed the definition of civilization propounded by Will Durant to explain how the Iranian Revolution fulfilled the criteria set out by the great Western luminary. According to Durant, a civilization must have the following four attributes: economic provision, moral tradition, political organization, and pursuit of knowledge and arts.

Dr Zahidi poured scorn on the West in general and the United States in particular for seeking to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear technology which, he said, Iran would employ to energize its industrial base and acquire the economic independence needed by a country to secure its sovereignty.

Others who spoke included Prof Ghulam Mehdi, Maulana Mohommad Abbas Waziri and Maulana Haider Ali Jawadi.