KARACHI, Mar 1: Protesters clashed with law enforcement personnel near the United States Consulate in Karachi on Mai Kolachi Road on Sunday, leaving several people injured, according to the Edhi rescue service.

About 500 Shiite Muslims stormed the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows hours after a major U.S. and Israeli attack killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, police said. Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, said Mohammad Jawad, a police official. At least one protester was killed, and several others were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces, he said.

The demonstrations followed the reported assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordinated U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran a day earlier.

In a statement, Edhi said law enforcement officers used tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. An Edhi ambulance transported the injured to Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar sought an immediate report on the situation from Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Azad Khan, according to a statement issued by his office.

“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” Lanjar was quoted as saying. He directed authorities to strengthen security at sensitive installations and ensure heightened vigilance.

The minister also instructed officials to designate alternative traffic routes to maintain the flow of vehicles and ordered law enforcement agencies to remain fully alert and closely monitor developments. “Action will be taken in accordance with the law against elements disturbing public order,” he warned.

In an update issued around 11 a.m., Karachi Traffic Police said both sides of the road from the Sultanabad Traffic Section toward Mai Kolachi had been closed due to the protest.

Authorities diverted traffic from Jinnah Bridge toward I.I. Chundrigar Road, while vehicles arriving from Boat Basin were U-turned at Mai Kolachi Phatak and redirected. Traffic coming from PIDC was turned back at Park Cut.

Traffic police urged motorists to contact the Traffic Helpline at 1915 for alternative routes to avoid inconvenience, adding that officers remained on site to manage the situation.