Pakistan death toll climbs to 24 as pro-Iran protests target US consulates

At least 24 people were killed in protests outside several US consulates across Pakistan on Sunday, prompting authorities to impose a curfew in some regions to quell the anger against the killing of Iran’s top leader.

 

In Pakistan’s main port city of Karachi, at least 10 pro-Iran protesters were killed when they tried to storm the US consulate. A Pakistani government spokesman said Sunday that security officials at the consulate opened fire on the demonstrators before police arrived and helped disperse the crowd.

 

In the northern Gilgit and Skardu region, home to a large share of Pakistan’s Shiite Muslim population, at least 14 protesters and one soldier was killed, the district’s caretaker information minister said by phone. There were also similar demonstrations near the consulate in the eastern city of Lahore and near the US embassy in the capital of Islamabad.

 

 

The US Embassy in Islamabad said on Sunday it’s monitoring reports of protests and warned citizens to take precautions. An embassy spokesman on Monday declined to comment further. Police said there were no major protests in Karachi on Monday. 

 

Pakistani shares fell by a record soon after the open on Monday, triggering a trading halt for one hour. The benchmark KSE-100 index was down 8% at 11:50am local time 

 

Protests erupted after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in coordinated attacks by the US and Israel. Pakistan’s Shiite Muslims make up 10% to 15% of the population — a large minority in the Sunni-dominated country. The South Asian nation is home to the third-largest Shiite community after Iran and Iraq. A 2015 survey by Pew Research Center showed that Pakistan was the only country where a majority of respondents — 57% — viewed Iran favorably.

 

In 2020, the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US strike in Baghdad sparked large protests in Karachi and Islamabad. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has condemned the attacks on Iran.

 

Faisal Edhi, who runs Edhi Foundation, a rescue service, said several of the injured on Sunday were in serious condition. Police tightened security in Islamabad and Lahore after the protests, which prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to call a high-level security meeting.

 

Local media reported police erected barricades and blocked roads leading to Islamabad’s diplomatic enclave, which houses most of the embassies, including the US embassy, in the city.