Islamabad, Pakistan – Protests erupted throughout Pakistan on Sunday, with 20 individuals lifeless and dozens wounded nationwide, after the United States and Israel confirmed the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordinated air strikes on Tehran.
The deaths included 10 people in Karachi, no less than eight in Skardu and two within the capital, Islamabad, as demonstrations largely led by members of Pakistan’s Shia Muslim neighborhood escalated and safety forces fired tear fuel and rubber bullets at protesters.
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Pakistan, a rustic of greater than 250 million individuals, is predominantly Sunni Muslim, however Shia account for greater than 20 p.c of the inhabitants and are unfold throughout the nation.
In Islamabad, 1000’s gathered close to the Red Zone, the closely fortified district that homes the parliament, authorities workplaces and overseas embassies. Protesters chanted, “Those who side with the US are traitors” and known as for “revenge against Israel”.
Between 5,000 and eight,000 individuals, together with girls and kids, assembled close to one of many capital’s largest inns, holding placards bearing Khamenei’s picture.
Syed Nayab Zehra, a 28-year-old protester, stated she had joined the rally together with her household to precise solidarity with Iranians, even when “our government is not with you”.
“We want to show the world that, don’t take us Shia lightly. We are here to remind the world that we will seek revenge. We cannot expect or hope anything from our own government, but we will stand up for our community,” she instructed Al Jazeera.
Pakistan’s authorities has condemned the joint US-Israel navy assault on Iran through which Khamenei was killed. It has additionally criticised Iran’s subsequent assaults on Gulf nations.
On Sunday, some individuals within the crowd urged demonstrators to march in direction of the diplomatic enclave, whereas others shouted directions to keep up “discipline”.
Ali Nawab, a employee for the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, a Shia political get together, stated organisers had agreed with native authorities to maintain the protest peaceable.
“There are a few people you can see here deliberately trying to make provocative gestures and making us do things we are not supposed to. We are here for a cause, and we will make our way forward when we are told to,” he stated.
Authorities had sealed roads resulting in the Red Zone, which homes the US Embassy and different diplomatic missions. When protesters tried to push via, safety forces fired tear fuel and rubber bullets. Witnesses stated reside rounds have been additionally heard.
As the gang retreated, additional volleys of tear fuel have been fired, injuring a number of individuals.
Mouwaddid Hussain, a 52-year-old protester, stated the federal government had betrayed them.
“Are we the enemy of the state? We were here to mourn the death of our leader, and we cannot even grieve here? They promised to let us be here and protest, but they violated their commitment,” he stated.
Al Jazeera noticed a number of individuals wounded by rubber bullet shrapnel. Doctors at Islamabad’s government-run Poly Clinic stated the hospital had acquired no less than two our bodies and handled no less than 35 injured individuals.
(*20*)A lot of girls, together with kids, additionally participated within the protests in Islamabad on Sunday [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera]Karachi turns lethal
The bloodiest scenes unfolded in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest metropolis, the place tons of gathered exterior the US Embassy and Consulates on Mai Kolachi Road.
A gaggle of younger males scaled the consulate’s outer gate, entered the driveway and smashed home windows in the primary constructing. The crowd was ultimately dispersed with tear fuel and gunfire. It was not instantly clear whether or not the firing got here from regulation enforcement personnel deployed on the web site.
At least 10 individuals have been killed and 60 wounded within the clashes, police surgeon Summaiya Syed stated in a press release.
The chief minister of Sindh province, which Karachi is a part of, Murad Ali Shah, described the incident as “extremely tragic” and ordered an neutral investigation.
“At a time when the country is facing a war-like situation, it is inappropriate to sabotage peace and order,” he stated, whereas additionally expressing solidarity with Iran and its individuals.
The US Embassy in Islamabad stated in a quick assertion on X that it was “monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations” at US amenities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and suggested US residents to keep away from giant crowds.
Sunday’s violence was not with out precedent. In November 1979, a crowd stormed and set hearth to the US Embassy in Islamabad, killing two Americans and two Pakistani employees members.
The assault got here days after Ruhollah Khomeini, the chief of Iran’s Islamic revolution, broadcast claims, later confirmed false, that the US and Israel have been behind the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The hearsay unfold quickly throughout Pakistan, drawing crowds that overwhelmed safety forces. The episode stays one of the vital critical assaults on a US diplomatic facility within the nation’s historical past.
Violence within the north
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountainous northern area with a big Shia inhabitants, unrest was additionally extreme.
At least eight individuals have been killed within the metropolis of Skardu after protesters set hearth to workplaces of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan. Other buildings, together with a faculty, have been broken.
Authorities imposed a three-day curfew in Skardu, and officers described the scenario as tense.
In the town of Lahore, tons of gathered exterior the US Embassy. Some tried to power their manner inside earlier than police dispersed them with tear fuel. No deaths have been reported there.
Protests have been additionally held in Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad, the place giant crowds took to the streets to denounce the US and Israel and mourn Khamenei’s dying.
Calls for calm
Earlier on Sunday, Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi visited components of Islamabad to evaluation safety and ordered reinforcements across the diplomatic enclave. In a video message, he appealed for restraint.
“After the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, every citizen of Pakistan is saddened in the same way as the citizens of Iran are grieving,” he stated.
“We are all with you. We request the citizens not to take the law into their hands, and to record their protest peacefully,” Naqvi added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later expressed his “grief and sorrow” over Khamenei’s dying in a social media submit.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the Heads of State/Government should not be targeted. We pray for the departed soul. May God Almighty grant patience and strength to the Iranian people to bear this irreparable loss,” the prime minister stated.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had spoken along with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, shortly after the strikes started a day earlier.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar “strongly condemned the unwarranted attacks against Iran” and known as for an instantaneous halt to escalation via diplomacy.
Pakistan shares a greater than 900km (559-mile) border with Iran, and maintains commerce and power ties with its neighbour. It doesn’t recognise Israel and has lengthy supported a two-state answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
