Pakistan has deployed troops and imposed a three-day curfew in the northern cities of Gilgit and Skardu after widespread demonstrations sparked by reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in a US-Israeli attack. Authorities say at least 25 people have been killed and dozens injured across the country. Thousands of Shia protesters attacked UN offices in Skardu in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, while in Gilgit city demonstrators set fire to a police station and damaged a school, officials said. Local police reported at least 12 deaths and about 80 wounded in Gilgit-Baltistan. The UN said its Military Observer Group field station in Skardu, which monitors the ceasefire in the disputed Kashmir region, was vandalized as violence spread nearby, and stressed that the safety of UN personnel and premises remains a top priority. In the southern port city Karachi, protesters stormed the US consulate, smashing windows and attempting to set parts of the building alight; clashes with police there left 10 people dead and more than 50 injured. One person was killed in clashes in the capital, Islamabad. Demonstrations in Parachinar, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar were reported to be largely peaceful. Pakistan is home to the world’s second-largest Shia population after Iran; while Shias are a national minority, they make up the majority in parts of the north, including sections of Gilgit-Baltistan. Authorities have tightened security around US diplomatic missions nationwide, blocking roads to the Karachi consulate and taking similar precautions in Lahore and Islamabad, and the US and UK embassies have urged their citizens to exercise caution. The unrest comes amid renewed border clashes with Afghanistan, which intensified after Afghanistan launched attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend. The government says the curfews and military deployments are intended to restore order while investigations and security operations continue. Edited by Zac Crellin.
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