At least nine protesters have been killed and 32 injured in clashes after hundreds of Pakistan’s pro-Iran Shia Muslims, angry over the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stormed the US Consulate in the port city of Karachi.
The Imamia Students Organization (ISO), the student wing of Shi'a political and religious groups, advanced on the consulate on March 1, a day after Khamenei died in US and Israeli air strikes.
The protesters smashed windows and doors at the consulate in an attempt to take over the building. They breached the perimeter, but not the actual building, as Pakistani security forces responded, resulting in the deaths of nine protesters, rescue officials told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.
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Violent Pro-Iran Protest Hits US Consulate In Karachi
Officials said the situation remains very tense in Karachi as police struggle to keep the protesters, estimated to number about 1,500, away from the area. Another group estimated to be double in size was seen moving toward the consulate from another road in the city. Clashes with security enforcement was reported there as well.
Sources in the city administration told Radio Mashaal that the army may be called into the city if the number of protesters continues to grow.
The situation was similar in other cities around Pakistan, with protests by Shi'a Muslims, who comprise about 20 percent of the population, in Peshawar, Lahore, and the capital, Islamabad.
In Islamabad, hundreds of protesters faced heavy tear gas shelling by the police as they attempt to reach the US Embassy there. Another group, numbering around 1,000 according to officials, launched a sit-in protest a few kilometers away from the embassy.
"We are monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional demonstrations at US Embassy Islamabad and Consulate General Peshawar," the embassy in Islamabad said in a post on X.
In an attempt to quell unrest, Pakistani authorities have invoked Section 144, prohibiting public gatherings and carrying arms, among other restrictions.
In Peshawar, hundreds of Shi'a protesters and ISO members have gathered, and their number is increasing. The organizers told Radio Mashaal that they plan to march on the US consulate. Heavy contingents of police have been deployed around the consulate, and armored vehicles are patrolling parts of the city.
Shi'a religious and political groups have also started a sit-in protest in front of the US consulate in Lahore. Numbering around 1,000, they are accompanied by women and children. Police have erected barriers to secure the main gate of the consulate.