NAWABSHAH/SUKKUR/Hyder­abad/LARKANA: A shutterdown strike was observed in Sanghar city while more rallies were taken out in other cities and towns of Sindh on Monday to condemn assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei and many of his close associates in US-Israeli air raids.

In Sanghar, all markets, bazaars, commercial areas and business establishments were closed on a call given by the district’s Federation of Commerce.

All shops and vending stalls along Mobile Market, Hyderabad Road, Sarafa Market and smaller shopping areas also remained completely closed throughout the day.

The strike call was supported by all trade unions of the district.

In various cities and towns of Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad and Naushahro Feroze districts, protest rallies were taken out to condemn the US-Isreali aggression that left several hundred people dead and many more wounded in Tehran during Sunday’s air strikes.

The rallies were organised by different political, religious and trade organisations. Several thousand people took part in the rallies to mourn the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei, his immediate relatives, and many senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC), besides hundreds of ordinary civilians.

Some of the protesters in each rally were carrying portraits of the revered Ayatollah and many others banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the US and Israel. They marched through the streets of their respective cities and town raising slogans against the aggressors and demanding matching revenge.

Speaking to them, their leaders called the attack on Iran an act of terrorism.

They said that the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei was a great loss of the Ummah, and called for unity of all Islamic forces to counter the ‘global terrorists’.

Participants of the protests offered Namaz-i-Janaza in absentia for Ayatullah Khamenei and all others who were martyred in the onslaught.

Meanwhile, the Shia Ulema Council (SAU), along with several other organisations, took out a rally in Nawabshah. It was led by Kifayat Hussain Karimi, Alam Marri, Zawwar Mohammed Hussain and others religious leaders. The rally started from the Murtazvi Imambargah and ended outside the local press club.

They strongly condemned the US-Israel aggression leading to the war which, they said, was imposed on Iran.

The protesters pitched a camp outside the press club blocking the adjacent road for many hours.

Namaz-i-Janaza in absentia was also offered by protesters taking part in various rallies in Sukkur, Ghotki, Khandhkot Kashmore and Jacobabad.

A shutterdown strike was also observed in Jacobabad city.

Members of the Sukkur District Bar Association offered the funeral prayers in absentia for all those martyred in the US-Israel invasion. They strongly condemned the aggression and expressed solidarity with the people of Iran.

The funeral prayers and rally in Kandhkot was organised by the Jamaat-i-Islami and led by Ghulam Mustafa Mirani and Maulana Rafiuddin Channa.

A complete shutterdown strike was observed in Jacobabad city, where protest rallies were also taken on the second consecutive day.

A sit-in was held at the DC Chowk, which was led by Syed Ehsan Ali Shah, Syed Kamran Shah, Syed Shabbir Shah and Nazir Hussain Jafferi.

District Bar Association leaders Muzaffar Ali Rind, Abdul Jabbar Lashari, Zahid Hussain Thaheem, Kamran Khan Pechuho and others joined in the sit-in.

The High Court Bar Association (HCBA) in Larkana and Hyderabad observed a ‘black day’ and boycotted court proceedings to protest the reported martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with others.

Due to the protest, hearings in several cases could not take place, and litigants returned home without their cases being heard.

The HCBA Larkana also offered funeral prayers in absentia for Ayatollah Khamenei and other martyrs. A large number of lawyers participated in the prayers, followed by fatiha for the martyrs.

Speaking to journalists on the occasion, HCBA Larkana President Athar Abbas Solangi and General Secretary Asif Chandio said the incident was not only a tragedy for Iran but also for the entire Muslim Ummah, adding that the Muslims around the world were in grief.

They strongly condemned what they termed an aggression by the United States and Israel. They stated that the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei and other Muslims was a significant loss for the Muslim Ummah.

The office-bearers urged that Pakistan should stand by Iran and extend its support.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2026