Clashes near US Consulate in Karachi leave 10 dead, over 30 injured

At least 10 people were killed and more than 30 others injured during clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel near the U.S. Consulate in Karachi on Sunday, hospital officials said.

Dr Mohammad Sabir Memon, executive director of Civil Hospital Karachi’s trauma center, told Nukta that 10 men had died and more than 30 were injured in the wake of protests near the consulate.

The protests followed the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran on Saturday.

Hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters tried to storm the consulate following the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

A crowd of young people climbed over the main gate and gained access to the driveway of the consular building, smashing some windows, according to the journalist.

Paramilitary force vehicle is parked on a road as smoke rises in the background, after a protest outside the U.S. Consulate General, following news of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Karachi, Pakistan March 1, 2026.Reuters

Police fired tear gas at the protesters, who later dispersed, the AFP journalist said.

Videos circulating on social media showed youngsters smashing the windows of the main building as the American flag flew over the compound, whose perimeter is topped with barbed wire.

“We need to remain united. No power can stop us,” a young protester could be heard saying in one video.

“We are setting the American consulate in Karachi on fire. God willing, we are avenging the killing of our leader,” another protester said while filming others attempting to start a blaze.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub in the southern province of Sindh, witnessed unrest near the consulate located on Mai Kolachi Road.

In a statement, Edhi said law enforcement personnel resorted to tear gas shelling and baton charges to control the situation. Ambulances transported the injured to Civil Hospital Karachi.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar sought immediate details about the situation from Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Azad Khan, according to a statement from the minister’s office.

“No one will be allowed to take the law into their hands,” Lanjar was quoted as saying. He ordered that security at sensitive installations be strengthened.

The minister also directed authorities to determine alternative routes to maintain the flow of traffic and instructed law enforcement agencies to remain fully alert and closely monitor the situation.

“Action will be taken in accordance with the law against elements disturbing law and order,” Lanjar said.

Thousands of people are also taking to the streets in the eastern city of Lahore and in northern Skardu, with a demonstration expected in the afternoon near the diplomatic enclave housing the U.S. embassy in Islamabad.

Separately, authorities in Islamabad imposed Section 144 in the federal capital, the district administration said.

Under Section 144, all types of gatherings will be considered illegal, the Islamabad district administration said in a statement, urging citizens not to become part of any assembly or gathering.

Strict legal action will be taken in case of any protest, demonstration or public gathering, the administration added.

- With additional input from AFP