22 killed as protesters clash with police outside US Consulate in Pakistan

Violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi and in the country’s north left at least 22 people dead and more than 120 others injured as the demonstrators attempted to storm a US Consulate on Sunday, authorities said.

In the north of the country, demonstrators attacked UN and government offices.

The violence came after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said that at least 50 people were also wounded in the clashes, and some of them were in critical condition.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his “profound sorrow over the martyrdom” of Khamenei and conveyed his condolences to Iran, according to his office. He said: “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss.”

The US Embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X that it was monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, as well as calls for additional protests at the US Embassy in Islamabad and the consulate general in Peshawar.

It advised US citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news, stay aware of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and keep their travel registration with the US government up to date.