Islamabad, Pakistan – Protests erupted across Pakistan on Sunday, with 20 people dead and dozens wounded nationwide, after the United States and Israel confirmed the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordinated air strikes on Tehran.
The deaths included 10 people in Karachi, at least eight in Skardu and two in the capital, Islamabad, as demonstrations largely led by members of Pakistan’s Shia Muslim community escalated and security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.
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Pakistan, a country of more than 250 million people, is predominantly Sunni Muslim, but Shia account for more than 20 percent of the population and are spread across the country.
In Islamabad, thousands gathered near the Red Zone, the heavily fortified district that houses the parliament, government offices and foreign embassies. Protesters chanted, “Those who side with the US are traitors” and called for “revenge against Israel”.
Between 5,000 and 8,000 people, including women and children, assembled near one of the capital’s largest hotels, holding placards bearing Khamenei’s image.
Syed Nayab Zehra, a 28-year-old protester, said she had joined the rally with her family to express solidarity with Iranians, even if “our government is not with you”.
“We want to show the world that, don’t take us Shia lightly. We are here to remind the world that we will seek revenge. We cannot expect or hope anything from our own government, but we will stand up for our community,” she told Al Jazeera.
Pakistan’s government has condemned the joint US-Israel military attack on Iran in which Khamenei was killed. It has also criticised Iran’s subsequent attacks on Gulf nations.
On Sunday, some people in the crowd urged demonstrators to march towards the diplomatic enclave, while others shouted instructions to maintain “discipline”.
Ali Nawab, a worker for the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, a Shia political party, said organisers had agreed with local authorities to keep the protest peaceful.
“There are a few people you can see here deliberately trying to make provocative gestures and making us do things we are not supposed to. We are here for a cause, and we will make our way forward when we are told to,” he said.
Authorities had sealed roads leading to the Red Zone, which houses the US Embassy and other diplomatic missions. When protesters attempted to push through, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Witnesses said live rounds were also heard.
As the crowd retreated, further volleys of tear gas were fired, injuring several people.
Mouwaddid Hussain, a 52-year-old protester, said the government had betrayed them.
“Are we the enemy of the state? We were here to mourn the death of our leader, and we cannot even grieve here? They promised to let us be here and protest, but they violated their commitment,” he said.
Al Jazeera saw several people wounded by rubber bullet shrapnel. Doctors at Islamabad’s government-run Poly Clinic said the hospital had received at least two bodies and treated at least 35 injured people.
Karachi turns deadly
The bloodiest scenes unfolded in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, where hundreds gathered outside the US Embassy and Consulates on Mai Kolachi Road.
A group of young men scaled the consulate’s outer gate, entered the driveway and smashed windows in the main building. The crowd was eventually dispersed with tear gas and gunfire. It was not immediately clear whether the firing came from law enforcement personnel deployed at the site.
At least 10 people were killed and 60 wounded in the clashes, police surgeon Summaiya Syed said in a statement.
The chief minister of Sindh province, which Karachi is part of, Murad Ali Shah, described the incident as “extremely tragic” and ordered an impartial investigation.
“At a time when the country is facing a war-like situation, it is inappropriate to sabotage peace and order,” he said, while also expressing solidarity with Iran and its people.
The US Embassy in Islamabad said in a brief statement on X that it was “monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations” at US facilities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and advised US citizens to avoid large crowds.
Sunday’s violence was not without precedent. In November 1979, a crowd stormed and set fire to the US Embassy in Islamabad, killing two Americans and two Pakistani staff members.
The attack came days after Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution, broadcast claims, later proven false, that the US and Israel were behind the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The rumour spread rapidly across Pakistan, drawing crowds that overwhelmed security forces. The episode remains one of the most serious attacks on a US diplomatic facility in the country’s history.
Violence in the north
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountainous northern region with a significant Shia population, unrest was also severe.
At least eight people were killed in the city of Skardu after protesters set fire to offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan. Other buildings, including a school, were damaged.
Authorities imposed a three-day curfew in Skardu, and officials described the situation as tense.
In the city of Lahore, hundreds gathered outside the US Embassy. Some attempted to force their way inside before police dispersed them with tear gas. No deaths were reported there.
Protests were also held in Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad, where large crowds took to the streets to denounce the US and Israel and mourn Khamenei’s death.
Calls for calm
Earlier on Sunday, Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi visited parts of Islamabad to review security and ordered reinforcements around the diplomatic enclave. In a video message, he appealed for restraint.
“After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan is saddened in the same way as the citizens of Iran are grieving,” he said.
“We are all with you. We request the citizens not to take the law into their hands, and to record their protest peacefully,” Naqvi added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later expressed his “grief and sorrow” over Khamenei’s death in a social media post.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the Heads of State/Government should not be targeted. We pray for the departed soul. May God Almighty grant patience and strength to the Iranian people to bear this irreparable loss,” the prime minister said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, shortly after the strikes began a day earlier.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar “strongly condemned the unwarranted attacks against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to escalation through diplomacy.
Pakistan shares a more than 900km (559-mile) border with Iran, and maintains trade and energy ties with its neighbour. It does not recognise Israel and has long supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.