Around 25 people died in Pakistan during weekend protests in support of Iran

The number of people killed in Pakistan’s violent weekend protests over the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader has risen to at least 25, according to an AFP count released Monday.

Protests broke out in several major Pakistani cities, including the southern metropolis of Karachi, where demonstrators attempted to storm American diplomatic facilities.

An AFP correspondent reported that hundreds of pro-Iran protesters tried to force their way into the United States consulate, triggering clashes with police.

The Karachi police surgeon’s office said at least 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured, while hospital figures obtained by AFP showed nine fatalities from gunshot wounds.

In the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, officials said at least 13 people died in confrontations between protesters and law enforcement.

A rescue official confirmed that seven people were killed in Gilgit, while a doctor told AFP that six others died in Skardu on Monday.

Authorities have enforced a night-time curfew in Gilgit and Skardu until Wednesday, with army troops deployed to patrol the streets.

Two additional deaths were reported in the capital, Islamabad, where thousands gathered, many carrying portraits of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

AFP journalists saw police using tear gas on Sunday afternoon to disperse crowds near the diplomatic enclave that houses the US embassy.

‘Grief and sorrow’

Military operations launched early Saturday by Israel and the United States in Iran resulted in the swift killing of the long-serving supreme leader, sparking anger in neighboring Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who maintains close ties with both Washington and Tehran, described Khamenei’s killing on Sunday as a violation of international law.

“It is an age-old convention that heads of state or government should not be targeted,” Sharif wrote on X.

He added that “the people of Pakistan stand with the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow and extend their deepest condolences on the martyrdom” of Khamenei.

During Sunday’s protest in Karachi, demonstrators chanted slogans against the United States, Israel, and their allies.

“We do not want anything in Pakistan that is connected to the US,” protester Sabir Hussain told AFP.

Earlier, a group of young demonstrators climbed over the main gate of the consulate, entered the driveway, and damaged windows.

Police responded with tear gas, forcing the crowd to disperse, according to AFP.

The embassies of the United States and Britain have advised their citizens in Pakistan to remain vigilant.