10 Killed in Pro-Iran Protests Outside US Consulate in Karachi
At least 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured near the US Consulate in Karachi on March 1 as security forces fired on protesters attempting to storm the building.
Deadly Protests Erupt at US Consulate in Karachi After Khamenei Killing
At least 10 people are dead in Karachi, Pakistan. Security forces opened fire Sunday morning to scatter hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters who attempted to storm the United States Consulate on Mai Kolachi Road, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 70 others. The violence erupted hours after Iran confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli airstrikes.
Video footage verified by Al Jazeera showed chaotic scenes outside the consulate — wounded protesters being carried by bystanders, tear gas filling the narrow streets, and Pakistani paramilitary vehicles positioned in defensive lines. One witness, Aqeel Raza, told Reuters that protesters attempted to breach the security gate "hundreds of yards from the consulate itself" before security forces intervened.
Pakistani authorities moved quickly to contain the violence. Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued a statement condemning attacks on diplomatic premises and announcing a heightened security posture at all foreign missions across the country. Police reinforcements were deployed to Lahore, where hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Consulate but where no violence was reported.
Protests Spread Across Pakistan and Beyond
Pakistan is a country deeply divided over the US-Iran conflict. With a Shia Muslim population estimated at 25 to 30 million people — the second-largest in the world after Iran — the killing of Khamenei hit emotional fault lines that the Pakistani government had worked carefully to manage. The protests in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad were large, fast, and largely spontaneous.
A demonstration was planned Sunday afternoon near the diplomatic enclave housing the US Embassy in Islamabad, with organizers calling for peaceful marches. Security forces deployed in unusually large numbers around the capital's diplomatic quarter. Intelligence officials told Pakistani media they were monitoring several groups with the potential to escalate demonstrations into attacks.
According to Ayesha Siddiqa, Pakistani defense analyst and author, "The Pakistani government is caught in an extremely difficult position. It cannot be seen as endorsing US actions in Iran given domestic religious sentiment, but it also cannot afford to allow diplomatic premises to be attacked without consequences for Pakistan's own international standing."
Global Wave of Protests Follows Khamenei's Death
Karachi was not alone. In Baghdad, hundreds of Iraqis dressed in black attempted to storm the compound housing the US Embassy on Sunday despite a heavy security deployment. Protests also broke out in Indian-administered Kashmir, where demonstrators burned US and Israeli flags in Srinagar's old city. Smaller demonstrations took place in Istanbul, Beirut, and several cities in Germany and France.
Iran's government called on its allies and supporters worldwide to "resist the American aggression by all available means," a statement that Western governments immediately characterized as an incitement to violence against diplomatic personnel. The US State Department issued a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory for Pakistan on Sunday afternoon and ordered non-emergency diplomatic personnel to depart Karachi.
Whether the wave of protests subsides quickly or grows into sustained unrest across the Muslim world will depend significantly on how Iran frames the days ahead — and whether its new, post-Khamenei leadership chooses to escalate the emotional charge around his death or channel it toward ceasefire negotiations.
