Karachi, Pakistan — Violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the Pakistani coastal city of Karachi on Sunday resulted in the death of at least 10 people and the injury of more than 50 others when pro-Iranian demonstrators attempted to storm the US consulate, authorities said.
In the north of the country, demonstrators also attacked UN and government offices.
The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and hospital officials in Karachi said that at least 25 people were also injured in the clashes, some of whom were in critical condition.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his “deep sadness over the martyrdom” of Khamenei and conveyed his condolences to Iran, according to his office. “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares their loss,” he said.
Somaya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city’s main government hospital, confirmed that six bodies and many injured people had been taken to the hospital. But she said that the death toll had risen to 10 after the death of four people who were seriously injured.
In the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, government spokesman Shabbir Mir said that thousands of Shiite demonstrators, angry at the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, attacked the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group and the United Nations Development Programme, adding that all employees working in those organizations are safe.
Mir said that demonstrators repeatedly clashed with police in various places in the area, damaged the offices of a local charity, and set fire to police offices. But he said that the authorities deployed forces and took control of the situation.
Police in Gilgit-Baltistan said at least two protesters were killed in the clashes.
The US Embassy in Pakistan said in a post on the
It advised US citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news, stay informed of their surroundings, avoid large crowds, and update their travel registration with the US government.
The windows of the consulate were smashed
In Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province and the largest city in Pakistan, senior police official Irfan Baloch said demonstrators briefly attacked the vicinity of the US consulate, but were later dispersed.
He denied reports that any part of the consulate building had been set on fire, describing them as baseless. But he said demonstrators set fire to a nearby police station and smashed the windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control.
Witnesses said that dozens of Shiite protesters remained gathered one kilometer from the consulate, urging others to join them. They said that one of the demonstrators tried to burn the window of the consulate, before security forces arrived there and dispersed the demonstrators.
Appeal for calm
The clashes prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue a call for calm.
Naqvi said in a statement: “After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every Pakistani citizen shares the grief of the Iranian people.”
He described it as “a day of mourning for the Islamic nation and for the people of Iran and Pakistan,” but urged people not to take the law into their own hands and express their protests peacefully.
In a statement, the Sindh provincial government also urged citizens to express their opinions peacefully and warned against involvement in violence.
Protests in the area around the US Consulate in Karachi continued for hours, with dozens of Shiite youth, some covering their faces, throwing stones at law enforcement officials and vowing to reach the consulate, where hundreds of police and paramilitary forces were deployed.
Lifting security measures at the American embassy and consulates
In Islamabad, police fired tear gas and used batons as hundreds of Shiite demonstrators, angry over Khamenei’s killing, tried to march toward the US embassy. The clashes took place outside the diplomatic quarter, where the embassy is located, and additional police forces were deployed.
In the northwestern city of Peshawar, the authorities also used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of demonstrators who tried to approach the US consulate to organize a march to denounce the killing of the Iranian leader, police said.
Shiites also organized a peaceful march in Multan, a city in Punjab province, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States.
Mamouna Shirazi, who attended the march, said she was protesting the killing of Khamenei. She described him as a fatherly figure and a strong voice for Shiites, adding that he also supports Sunni Muslims facing persecution. She said: “God willing, we will never bow to America and Israel.”
Shiites also held a march and clashes with police occurred frequently near the US consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. Anti-Israel and anti-US rallies are also scheduled to be held in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Authorities said the government has strengthened security measures around the US Embassy in the capital and consulates across the country to avoid further violence.
Shiites constitute approximately 15% of Pakistan’s population of approximately 250 million people and represent one of the largest Shiite sects in the world. They have often organized anti-Israel and anti-US rallies in the past, although clashes of this scale are rare.
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Munir Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Riaz Khan and Rasul Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Babar Dogar in Lahore, and Asim Tanveer in Multan contributed to this story.
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