Violent Clashes Erupt in Pakistan Protests... At Least 23 Dead [US-Iran War]

In Pakistan, the death toll has risen to at least 23 as protesters, angered by US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran and the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attacked US consulates and United Nations offices.

On the 1st (local time), at the funeral of protesters who died after police fired shots during an attack on the US Consulate in Karachi, southern Pakistan, a crowd mourned around the coffins of the deceased. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to Reuters on March 2 (local time), Pakistani government and intelligence sources reported that, on the previous day, thousands of pro-Iranian Muslim protesters stormed and set fire to United Nations offices, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan Province in northern Pakistan, resulting in 11 deaths.

Shabbir Mir, a spokesperson for the local authorities, said, "A large crowd gathered outside the UN office and set the building on fire," and added, "Protesters clashed with police multiple times across the region and set fire to a police station." Authorities later deployed military forces to bring the situation under control, and all UN office staff members are reported to be safe. Gilgit-Baltistan is the only region in Pakistan where the Shiite population, as in Iran, forms the majority.

On the same day, in Karachi, the largest city in southern Sindh Province, it was reported that 10 protesters attempting to break into the US Consulate were shot dead. Local government spokesperson Sukhdev Asardas Hemnani explained that the consulate security personnel opened fire on protesters who breached the outer security perimeter.

In the capital city of Islamabad, thousands of enraged protesters marched toward the US Embassy in Pakistan, resulting in two deaths and nearly ten injuries after police fired tear gas and live ammunition. As clashes broke out on the outskirts of the diplomatic enclave where the US Embassy is located, police blocked all roads leading to the area and deployed additional personnel.

In Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest, police dispersed thousands of protesters marching toward the US Consulate using tear gas and batons. Near the US Consulate in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province in the east, protesters also held rallies and clashed with police multiple times.

The Pakistani government announced that it has tightened security around the US Embassy in Islamabad and US consulates nationwide to prevent further violence. Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's Minister of the Interior, issued a statement saying, "In light of Khamenei's martyrdom, all Pakistani people share in the grief of the Iranian people," while urging citizens to refrain from vigilante actions and to conduct protests in a peaceful manner.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.