Multiple fatalities occurred on Sunday, March 1, 2026, and over 100 people were injured as violent demonstrations broke out across Pakistan and Iraq after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes. The deadliest confrontations took place when crowds attempted to seize the American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
Security personnel opened fire on protesters in Karachi, the country’s largest urban center, killing at least 10 people and injuring many more. Demonstrators shattered the consulate’s windows, ignited a nearby police outpost, and momentarily breached the compound’s outer edge. Nearly half of the day’s casualties occurred in the southern port city.
Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at Karachi’s main public hospital, reported that six bodies arrived initially, with four others dying later from critical wounds. Senior police officer Irfan Baloch stated that demonstrators briefly reached the consulate’s external perimeter before being repelled, rejecting claims that any section of the facility had been set ablaze.
The unrest expanded nationwide in Pakistan, where Shiite Muslims make up roughly 15 to 20 percent of the population of 250 million. In the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, authorities reported an estimated 14 deaths in clashes with security forces, though figures vary by source. Protesters there targeted offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group and the U.N. Development Programme, burned police outposts, and damaged local charity buildings before troops intervened and imposed a curfew.
Two more people were killed in Islamabad as police used tear gas and live ammunition to stop thousands of protesters from approaching the U.S. Embassy. Officials sealed off all entry routes to the Red Zone, the secure diplomatic enclave housing embassies and government facilities.
President Asif Ali Zardari conveyed condolences to Iran in the wake of Khamenei’s death. “Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shares in their loss,” he said in an official statement.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged restraint while acknowledging widespread sorrow, calling on citizens not to take the law into their own hands and to protest peacefully. He described the day as one of mourning for the Muslim Ummah and for the people of Iran and Pakistan.
Khamenei, aged 86, served nearly 37 years as Iran’s Supreme Leader—the longest tenure of any contemporary Middle Eastern leader—and oversaw the expansion of Iran-backed militias across the region. His passing had a profound effect on the Islamic world, particularly Shiite communities who viewed him as a spiritual authority.
Thousands also rallied in Lahore and Peshawar, where security forces deployed tear gas and batons to stop crowds from reaching U.S. consulates. In Multan, a city in Punjab province, protesters held a peaceful demonstration criticizing the United States and Israel. One participant, Mamoona Sherazi, said: “God willing, we will never bow before America and Israel.”
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said it was tracking reports of ongoing protests at consulates in Karachi and Lahore. It advised American citizens to stay informed via local media, avoid large gatherings, and remain cautious.
Pakistan’s government bolstered security around the U.S. Embassy and consulates nationwide in response to the upheaval. Sindh Province Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar warned that authorities would not tolerate disorder and encouraged citizens to express their opinions peacefully.
Similar reactions emerged across the Middle East. Tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters and Shiite Muslims gathered in southern Beirut to mourn Khamenei, carrying flags and portraits of the late leader. Pro-Houthi outlets in Yemen claimed that one million people joined a march in Sanaa to show solidarity with Iran. In Iraq, security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of pro-Iran demonstrators who waved flags, threw stones, and attempted to breach Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy sits.
Iran-aligned groups—such as Hamas, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, and Hezbollah—released statements of condolence. Hezbollah’s secretary general, Naim Qassem, hailed Khamenei for leading what Tehran calls an “axis of resistance” against U.S. and Israeli power in the region.
Khamenei’s death comes less than 18 months after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a September 2024 airstrike on Beirut, a major blow to Iran’s regional influence and another symbolic loss for Shiite Muslims who regarded both men as icons of resistance.
