At least 26 people have died across Pakistan following protests that erupted on Sunday in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, officials confirmed Monday. The violence, concentrated in cities including Karachi, Skardu, Gilgit, Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar, has prompted authorities to deploy the army and impose curfews in several regions.
Amnesty International has expressed serious concern over the response of Pakistani security forces to the protests. “The killing of protesters and reports of the utilize of lethal ammunition by security forces against these assemblies raises serious concerns about unlawful use of force,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, in a statement. “Protesters have a right to gather peacefully and express dissent, even in moments of heightened tension.”
Reports from Karachi indicate at least ten protesters were killed and 96 injured after demonstrators breached the U.S. Consulate premises. Hospital officials confirmed many of those treated sustained gunshot wounds. In Islamabad, at least two protesters were killed and over 30 injured near the Diplomatic Enclave, with reports detailing the use of kinetic impact projectiles and tear gas. The most severe clashes occurred in Skardu, where fourteen people, including a soldier, were killed. Protesters in Skardu and Gilgit set fire to the offices of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), as well as a school and municipal offices in Skardu.
In the wake of the violence, public gatherings have been prohibited in the Sindh and Punjab provinces, and in Islamabad. A curfew has been imposed in Skardu city, and the Pakistan Army has been deployed to maintain order. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “profound sorrow over the martyrdom” of Ayatollah Khamenei and extended condolences to Iran, stating that Pakistan stands with the Iranian nation, according to his office.
The unrest follows the confirmation of Khamenei’s death by Iranian state media on Sunday, after U.S. And Israeli strikes targeted the Iranian capital. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier announced Khamenei’s death on his social media platform, Truth Social. Pakistan’s government has voiced concern over what it termed a “violation” of international law, asserting that heads of state should not be targeted, though without directly naming the U.S. Or Israel. Sharif also held discussions with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, emphasizing the need for restraint, dialogue, and de-escalation to preserve regional peace and stability.
Amnesty International is calling for a “thorough, independent, impartial and effective investigation into the deaths and injuries and the use of force deployed by security personnel.” The organization asserts that families of those killed and injured have a right to remedy. Pant emphasized that even when protests turn violent, law enforcement must exercise restraint and use force only when “absolutely necessary” and proportionate to the threat, reserving lethal force as a “last resort” against those posing an “imminent threat to life.”
