• Political leaders across country denounce Khamenei’s assassination, express solidarity with Iran
• Session to be held at 3pm instead of 10:30am amid tight security

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leadership and political circles on Sunday strongly condemned the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, while the joint sitting of parliament was rescheduled in view of the volatile security situation in the country following the tragic incident.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed “profound sorrow over the martyrdom of Khamenei and other members of Iran’s senior leadership killed alongside him”, and conveyed heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Iran.

He said Pakistan “stood with the Iranian nation in this moment of grief and shared in their loss”. He prayed for the departed souls and patience and fortitude for Iranians during this difficult time.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said “the government and people of Pakistan stood with the people of Iran in their hour of grief and extended sincere condolences on the martyrdom of Khamenei”. He expressed concern over violations of international law, stating that it was a long-established convention that heads of state and government should not be targeted.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also expressed “profound grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of Khamenei, along with his son, Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei, his daughter-in-law Ms Zahra Haddad-Adel, his son-in-law and his granddaughter”.

Meanwhile, the joint session of parliament, originally scheduled for 10:30am on Monday (today), will now be held at 3pm, according to a statement issued by the National Assembly Secretariat. President Zardari will address the joint session.

Strict security arrangements have been put in place for the session, as entry of any unauthorised person into Parliament House will be prohibited. Guests will not be allowed to attend the session. Only journalists holding new working press gallery cards of the National Assembly and Senate for 2026 will be permitted to cover the proceedings. Only one cameraman from each channel will be allowed.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed sorrow over the assassination, saying in a televised message that “every citizen of Pakistan felt grief over the martyrdom”.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader “a shock for the whole world” and said he was praying for patience for those mourning the loss. He warned that rising tensions between Iran, Israel and Gulf countries were dangerous for regional stability and global peace.

In separate statements, PTI and the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) expressed profound sorrow and unequivocal condemnation of the assassination. They said the killing undermined international law, destabilised the region and pushed the world further towards chaos and conflict.

The TTAP announced three days of mourning for the slain leader and urged the government to declare official mourning. The alliance also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of hundreds of innocent lives due to US and Israeli aggression on Iran, including civilian casualties in an attack on a girls’ school.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2026