AT LEAST 25 people have been killed in violent protests across Pakistan over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, according to an AFP tally on Monday.
Protests broke out in several major cities, including Karachi, where demonstrators attempted to storm American diplomatic buildings.
An AFP journalist saw hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters trying to enter the United States consulate in Karachi, leading to clashes with police.
The office of the Karachi police surgeon said at least 10 people were killed and more than 70 were injured. A hospital toll seen by AFP listed nine people as having died from gunshot wounds.
In the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, officials said at least 13 people were killed in clashes between protesters and police.
A rescue official said seven people were killed in Gilgit. A doctor told AFP on Monday that six others died in Skardu.
Authorities imposed a late-night curfew in Gilgit and Skardu, which will remain in place until Wednesday. The army has been deployed on the streets in both cities.
Two more people were killed in Islamabad, where thousands gathered in the streets, many holding photos of the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
AFP journalists saw police firing tear gas near the diplomatic enclave that houses the US embassy on Sunday afternoon.
'Grief and sorrow'
Israel and the United States launched military operations on Iran early Saturday, killing the long-ruling supreme leader and triggering protests in neighbouring Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday evening that the killing of Khamenei was a "violation" of international law.
"It is an age old convention that the Heads of State/Government should not be targeted," Sharif wrote on X.
The "people of Pakistan join the people of Iran in their hour of grief and sorrow and extend the most sincere condolences on the martyrdom" of Khamenei, he added.
At the Karachi protest on Sunday, demonstrators chanted slogans against the United States, Israel and their allies.
"We don't need anything in Pakistan that is linked with the US," protester Sabir Hussain told AFP.
Earlier, a group of young people climbed over the main gate and entered the driveway of the consular building, breaking some windows.
Police fired tear gas and the protesters later dispersed, according to an AFP journalist.
The embassies of the United States and Britain urged their citizens in Pakistan to remain cautious.
(With inputs from agencies)
