At least 9 killed as Shiites storm US Consulate in Pakistan over killing of Iran's supreme leader

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KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — At least nine people were killed and about two dozen were wounded in violent clashes with police and paramilitary forces Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.

The violence came hours after the United States and Israel attacked Iran and killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least 25 people were also wounded in the clashes and some of them were in critical condition.

Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city's main government hospital, confirmed that initially six bodies and multiple injured people were brought to the facility. However, she said the death toll rose to nine after three critically wounded died.

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan wrote on X that it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the U.S. Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional protests at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulate General in Peshawar. It advised U.S. citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news, stay aware of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and keep their travel registration with the U.S. government up to date.

Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistan’s largest city.

Senior police official Irfan Baloch said protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the U.S. Consulate but were later dispersed. He dismissed as baseless reports that any part of the consulate building was set on fire. However, he said protesters torched a nearby police post and smashed windows of the consulate before security forces arrived and regained control.

Witnesses said dozens of Shiite protesters remained gathered about a kilometer (half a mile) from the consulate, urging others to join them. They said one of the protesters had tried to burn a window of the consulate before security forces arrived there and dispersed the demonstrators.

It prompted Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue an appeal for calm.

In a statement, he said, “Following the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan shares in the grief of the people of Iran.” He described it as “a day of mourning for the Muslim Ummah and for the people of both Iran and Pakistan,” but urged people not to take the law into their own hands and to express their protests peacefully.

The provincial government of Sindh in a statement also urged citizens to express their views peacefully and warned against engaging in violence. The area surrounding the U.S. Consulate in Karachi resembled a conflict zone as protests continued for hours, with dozens of Shiite youth, some covering their faces, throwing stones at law enforcement officials and vowing to reach the consulate, where hundreds of police and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed.

Shiites also held a peaceful rally in Multan, a city in Punjab province, chanting slogans against Israel and the United States. Mamoona Sherazi, who attended the rally, said she was protesting the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. She described Khamenei as a fatherly figure and a strong voice for Shiites, adding that he also supported Sunni Muslims facing oppression. “God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel,” she said.

Shiites also held a rally near the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province, police said. A rally was also planned in the capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the country. Authorities said the government has stepped up security around the U.S. Embassy in the capital, and consulates across the country to avoid any further violence.

Shiites make up roughly 15% of Pakistan’s population of about 250 million and represent one of the largest Shiite communities in the world. They have frequently staged anti-Israel and anti-U.S. rallies in the past, though clashes of this scale are rare.

Meanwhile, Pakistani students and other citizens stranded in Iran began returning home Sunday, officials said. Initially, 51 Pakistanis, including businessmen, tourists and students, crossed into Pakistan from the Gabad border crossing in Balochistan province following U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran, said Naqeebullah Kakar, a deputy commissioner in the port city of Gwadar.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, and Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, contributed to this story.