Pakistani authorities deployed troops and imposed a three-day pre-dawn curfew on Monday in the northern cities of Gilgit and Skardu after several people were killed and dozens injured in violent protests following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in attacks between the United States and Israel, officials said.
Thousands of Shiite protesters attacked the offices of the UN Military Observer Group, which monitors the ceasefire in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the UN Development Program in the town of Skardu on Sunday.
According to authorities, protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit. At least 12 people were killed and 80 others injured, police in the Gilgit-Baltistan region said.
U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Monday that protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP field station, which was vandalized. “The safety of UN staff and facilities across the region remains our top priority and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Shabir Mir said on Monday that the situation was under control and the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday. Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay home, citing the “deteriorating law and order conditions.”
Protesters in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi broke into the U.S. consulate on Sunday, smashing windows and attempting to burn the building. The police responded with batons, tear gas and gunshots, leaving 10 dead and more than 50 injured.
Read moreAt least nine dead as protesters storm US consulate in Pakistan
One person was also killed in clashes in Islamabad during an attempted Shiite march on the US embassy. The US Embassy and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore canceled visa appointments and services for US citizens 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 prevent further violence.
Also on Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange plunged, with the benchmark KSE-100 index falling nearly 10% amid rising geopolitical tensions following the attacks on Iran. Investors sold off stocks across sectors, with analysts citing increased uncertainty as the main factor behind the sharp decline.
Anger has been rising in Pakistan, particularly among members of the Shiite minority, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Khamenei and other top officials. While Shiites are a minority throughout the country, they form a majority in some northern districts and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.
Sunday’s unrest came amid cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which began on Thursday after Afghanistan launched strikes in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday. Since then, Pakistan has carried out repeated operations along the border.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
