KARACHI, Pakistan — March 2, 2026 — Violent protests broke out in Pakistan on Sunday after news spread of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, drawing outrage among supporters of Iran. In the port city of Karachi, hundreds of protesters attempted to storm the United States Consulate, breaching the outer wall and clashing with police and paramilitary forces.
Local authorities and police officials reported that in Karachi at least nine people were killed during the violent confrontations, with many others wounded as security forces deployed tear gas, tear gas and live ammunition to push back the crowd. Protesters smashed windows of the consulate compound, set a vehicle ablaze near the main gate and hurled stones at law enforcement.
Witnesses and video footage from the scene showed frenzied clashes on Mai Kolachi Road, where police and Rangers struggled to contain the crowd. The deaths occurred as police and medical teams confirmed bodies and injured were brought to Karachi’s civil hospitals. Some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Protests were not limited to Karachi. Demonstrators also gathered in other major Pakistani cities, including Lahore, where crowds assembled outside the U.S. Consulate earlier in the day — though clashes there were reportedly less intense and did not immediately result in fatalities. In the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, additional unrest and attacks on a United Nations office were reported, adding to the overall death toll and injuries in the broader wave of demonstrations.
Analysts say the protests were fueled by widespread anger over the killing of Khamenei, a figure revered by many Shiite Muslim communities across the region. Demonstrators in Karachi and elsewhere chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans, expressing their solidarity with Iran while condemning the strikes.
In Baghdad, Iraq, pro-Iranian demonstrators also gathered outside the U.S. Embassy, where authorities used tear gas to disperse crowds attempting to approach the heavily guarded compound. This reflects how the violent fallout from the Middle East conflict is rippling beyond the battlefield and influencing public sentiment in other countries.
The unrest in Pakistan comes amid broader regional instability and escalating clashes following U.S. and Israeli military actions in the Middle East, raising concerns about diplomatic security and domestic tensions among Muslim populations in countries with significant Shiite communities.
