Pro-Iranian protests in Pakistan claimed 17 lives.
At least 17 people have been killed in Pakistan in clashes with police over the death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The deaths occurred in several cities in the country on Sunday. Many of the protesters tried to attack the US consulate.
An AFP journalist said that hundreds of protesters in Karachi tried to enter the US consulate when they clashed with police. According to the Karachi police surgeon's office, at least 10 people had been killed and more than 70 injured as of yesterday evening. Earlier, a hospital list had mentioned nine people killed, all of whom had died of gunshot wounds.
Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed and many others injured in clashes with police in the northern Pakistani city of Gilgit, rescue official Zahir Shah confirmed to AFP by telephone.
In the capital Islamabad, thousands of people took to the streets carrying pictures of Khamenei. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse a crowd that had gathered near the US embassy. Protesters set fire to a UN office in the city of Skardu. Thousands of people also took part in protests in Lahore.
The United States and the United Kingdom have advised their citizens in Pakistan to be vigilant in view of the situation. Governments in Muslim-majority countries in South and Southeast Asia have also called for restraint on all sides. Many religious and political parties have called Khamenei a “martyr”.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called Khamenei’s assassination a “violation” of international law. He wrote on social media, “It is a long-standing tradition not to target heads of state or government. The people of Pakistan stand with the mourning people of Iran in the martyrdom of Khamenei.”
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