l At least two dead, 15 injured in clashes
l Furious protesters torched a police check post, attempted to reach US embassy
l Protesters snatch cameras of photographers, including Dawn’s Tanveer Shahzad and harass them
l Authorities urged people to stay peaceful, avoid violence during demonstrations

ISLAMABAD: Sudden developments were witnessed in the capital city after the news of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination spread like wildfire on Sunday.

Two persons were reported killed and dozens more injured in clashes with law enforcement personnel.

On the other hand, the district administration warned that Section 144 had been imposed in the city.

“Under Section 144, all kinds of public gatherings and assemblies are unlawful. Any form of protest, demonstration, or public assembly will be considered a violation of the imposed restrictions. Citizens are advised not to participate in any gathering or assembly,” a statement issued by the ICT administration said.

It added that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found violating Section 144.

However, people started reaching Aabpara and began a march towards Diplomatic Enclave, which is almost two kilometres away. Their number suddenly increased when the protesters reached Serena Chowk near the Diplomatic Enclave, as rallies from Rawalpindi and Jinnah Avenue also reached there.

According to an eyewitness, as the number of people in the crowd was in thousands and the marchers were furious, they pushed police officials and reached in front of the Foreign Office building, which is located on one side of Constitution Avenue with the Diplomatic Enclave located on the other side of the road.

“There were police in the first line of defence and then Rangers in the second line. There was also a third line of cordon in which there were personnel of armed forces,” he said.

The eyewitness said initially law enforcers fired into the air to warn the protesters not to try to enter the Diplomatic Enclave followed by shelling.

“After a clash, officials of law enforcement agencies pushed the protesters toward a park adjacent to Serena Hotel on Aabpara side.”

Checkpost torched

The protesters torched a police checkpost and also grabbed cameras of photographers, including Dawn photographer Tanveer Shahzad, and harassed them.

They also told the photographers to delete the pictures. Gunshots were heard continuously in the meantime,” he said.

Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) spokesperson Hasnain Zaidi, while talking to Dawn, said thousands of people reached Aabpara Chowk as there was a call for a march to the US embassy.

Replying to a question, he said as there was a followership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei across Pakistan it was understandable that thousands of people would join the protest.

“There are several students who have come from different areas of Pakistan and have been studying in Islamabad. There were also a large number of children, women and elderly persons in the protest. It is assumed that the protests, having women, remain peaceful, but the crowdewas very furious and wanted to reach the US embassy at any cost. So they had a clash with officials of the law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Mr Zaidi said that Allama Raja Nasir Abbas tried to control the crowd. “At around 5:30pm, the crowd started dispersing, and many people returned,” he said.

“However, we learnt that at least two persons had died and tens of others injured, so we reached outside hospitals and held Iftar camps there. Moreover, 15 protesters were arrested and shifted to a police station. We have started efforts to get them released,” he said.

On the other hand, the US embassy on Sunday issued a security alert for American nationals in Pakistan, advising them to exercise caution and avoid frequenting public places unnecessarily. It also cancelled all appointments for US visas and American Citizen Services for Monday, March 2.

Attock

A large number of protesters also staged a rally in Jand town of Attock. Citizens from different schools of thought, along with political and social figures and a significant number of youth, participated in the demonstration.

The rally commenced from Baraf Khana stop and culminated at Khomeini Chowk, where participants gathered to express their concerns. Protesters carried banners and placards while chanting slogans against global oppression and expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. The participants said the silence of the international community over atrocities against oppressed nations was deeply troubling and called for immediate attention to humanitarian crises affecting Muslim communities worldwide.

At the conclusion of the rally, local political figure Syed Atif Shah Gilani and religious scholar Allama Syed Saeed Haider Hamdani stressed that actions against oppressed nations pose a serious threat to global peace and must be strongly condemned.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2026