Tehran, IRNA – Top Pakistani officials congratulated the Iranian people and government on the Islamic Republic Day on Saturday.

Pakistan’s Parliament Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and his deputy Zahid Akram Durrani sent their congratulatory messages to Iran on the occasion.

Saturday, April 1, marked the 44th anniversary of a referendum that put to vote the Islamic Republic, a system based on religious democracy.

More than 98 percent of the Iranian people cast yes votes, approving the Islamic Republic which replaced the Western-backed Pahlavi regime.

The Pahlavi regime had been toppled in February 1979 following the Islamic Revolution led by the late Imam Khomeini.

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