ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani authorities deployed troops and imposed a three-day curfew before dawn Monday in the northern cities of Gilgit and Skardu after several people died and tens were injured in violent protests following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes, officials said.
Thousands of Shiite demonstrators attacked on Sunday the offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group, which monitors the ceasefire
along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the U.N. Development Programme in Skardu city. Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials. At least 12 people were killed and 80 others injured, police in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday said protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalized. “The safety and security of U.N. personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman, said Monday the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors, citing “deteriorating law and order conditions.”
Demonstrators in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi stormed the U.S. Consulate on Sunday, smashing windows and attempting to burn the building. Police responded with batons, tear gas, and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured. One person was also killed in clashes in Islamabad during an attempted Shiite march toward the U.S. Embassy.
The U.S. Embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore canceled visa appointments and American Citizen Services on Monday, citing security concerns. Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at U.S. diplomatic missions across the country, including around the U.S. consulate building in Peshawar, to avoid any further violence.
Also Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange plunged, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling nearly 10% amid rising geopolitical tensions following attacks on Iran. Investors sold off shares across sectors, with analysts citing heightened uncertainty as the main driver behind the sharp decline.
Anger has been rising in Pakistan, particularly among members of the Shiite minority, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Khamenei and other senior officials. While Shiites are a minority nationwide, they form a majority in some northern districts and in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan.
Sunday’s unrest came amid ongoing cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which began Thursday after Afghanistan launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday. Pakistan has since carried out repeated operations along the border.
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Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
