Islamabad: The US Embassy in Islamabad on Monday announced that visa appointments, as well as American Citizens Services, have been cancelled for the day following the violent protests that unfolded the previous day.
In a post on X, the US Embassy said, “All appointments for US visas and American Citizen Services are cancelled for today, March 2, at the US Embassy in Islamabad and the US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore.”
Violent protests took place outside the US Consulate General in Karachi and Lahore, and calls for demonstrations at the US Embassy in Islamabad and Consulate General Peshawar were also made on Sunday.
This came as the members of the Shia community came out in large numbers to demonstrate against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination in the joint US-Israel strikes.
The US Embassy has also advised American citizens in Pakistan to monitor local news and observe good personal security practices.
Meanwhile, at least 23 protesters were killed in clashes across Pakistan, including 10 outside the US consulate in Karachi, and 11 people in the Skardu district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan, where the crowd torched a UN office, while two were killed in Islamabad, reports leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune.
Visuals circulating on social media showed doors and windows of the US Consulate in Karachi smashed and set on fire, and chaotic scenes outside the consulate premises, with demonstrators damaging property and clashing with security personnel.
Protesters were seen breaking windows and attacking the guard area with sticks, prompting a forceful response from law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, protesters in the Skardu and Gilgit regions of PoGB set on fire the offices of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), the Dawn reported.
The protesters also set a school, the office of the superintendent of police, and the Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) office on fire. The PoGB police announced that a curfew has been imposed in Skardu.
The Pakistan Army had been called in under Section 245 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), noting that UNMOGIP offices in Skardu and Gilgit were set on fire. It further mentioned that no casualties were reported during the protests.
(IANS)
