Karachi | Pakistan

The US State Department said on Wednesday it had ordered non-emergency personnel from US consulates in the cities of Karachi and Lahore and their families to leave Pakistan due to security concerns. “The Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks,” the US Mission in Pakistan said in a statement. It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in Islamabad. The advisory noted “an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran and significant disruptions to commercial flights” amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. While there is also an additional consulate in Peshawar, the updated travel advisory did not mention anything about it. Following the onset of hostilities between Iran and the US and Israel since February 28, the State Department has issued similar instructions for its staff in multiple regional countries. These include Jordan, Bah...

United States Marines opened fire on demonstrators during the storming of the Karachi consulate over the weekend, two US officials said on Monday — a rare use of force at a diplomatic post that could sharply escalate tensions in the country amid widespread protests over the assassination of Iran’s leader. On Sunday, 11 people were killed when protesters breached the compound’s outer wall after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in strikes on Iran. Citing initial information, the two US officials said it was unclear whether rounds fired by Marines struck or killed anyone. They also did not know whether shots were also fired by others protecting the mission, including private security guards and local police. This would mark the first confirmation by US officials that Marines were involved in firing at the protestors. A Sindh government spokesman, Sukhdev Assardas Hemnani, said “security” personnel had opened fire, without specifying their affiliation. Daily security operations at US...

US Marines opened fire during the storming of the American consulate in Karachi over the weekend, two US officials said on Monday, marking a rare use of force by military personnel at a diplomatic facility and underscoring the gravity of the security breach amid nationwide unrest.

Karachi’s MT Khan Road was closed again on Tuesday in response to the prevailing security situation in the city, according to the traffic police. Ten people were killed in Karachi on Sunday as protests erupted against the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks. A ban on gatherings and rallies has also been extended across Sindh. An alert issued by the Karachi Traffic Police for District South at 5:38am said that both sides of MT Khan Road remained closed from the PIDC signal towards Jinnah Bridge for security reasons. As an alternative route, traffic from PIDC has been diverted towards Khajoor Chowk and Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, and from Jinnah Bridge towards II Chundrigar Road, it said. Subsequently, the police issued another alert at 9:21am for traffic congestion on both sides of II Chundrigar Road from Jinnah Bridge towards Tower and Shaheen Complex due to the MT Khan Road closure. A map showing road closures in Karachi on March 3. — screengrab via Google Maps I...

The Karachi Traffic Police closed multiple roads in the city’s West and South districts on Monday, in view of the prevailing security situation. Ten people were killed in Karachi and two in Islamabad as protests erupted countrywide against the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks. In response, law enforcement personnel resorted to teargas shelling and baton-charge to control the situation. A ban on gatherings and rallies was also extended across Sindh. A road closure alert was issued at 8:51am for both sides of the road from Sultanabad Traffic Section towards Mai Kolachi, as well as both sides of MT Khan Road, from Jinnah Bridge towards PIDC and from PIDC towards Jinnah Bridge. A map showing planned road closures and alternative traffic routes in Karachi’s West and South districts. — via Karachi Traffic Police Traffic from Jinnah Bridge was being sent towards II Chundrigar Road as an alternative route. Traffic from Boat Basin was being U-turned at Mai Kolachi Ph...

Authorities have closed several major roads in Karachi as a precautionary measure ahead of possible protests following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in reported US-Iran airstrikes.

KARACHI/LAHORE/GILGIT/ISLAMABAD/DI KHAN: Ten people were killed in Karachi and two in Islamabad as protests erupted countrywide against the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks. The situation warranted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to issue an appeal, urging people to remain peaceful. “Today is a sorrowful day for the entire Muslim ummah, Pakistan’s public and Iran’s public,” he said in a video statement. Stating that every Pakistani citizen was as aggrieved as Iranians, Naqvi said, “My only request is that we all stand with you, but please do not take the law into your hands. You may protest but peacefully.” Karachi clashes In Karachi, protesters clashed with law enforcement personnel near the US Consulate on Mai Kolachi Road. Law enforcement personnel resorted to teargas shelling and baton-charge to control the situation. Subsequently, Section 144 was also extended across Sindh. According to the Home Department, all kinds of wall chalking, protests, demonstra...

KARACHI: Spent casings of tear gas shells littered the road outside the US consulate in Karachi on Sunday, which was sprinkled with charred remains of several motorcycles — including one that belonged to a Dawn photographer. The smell of gunpowder was in the air, regularly punctuated by the deep thumps of tear gas shells being fired. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel, including paramilitary forces, riot police and special units, were in the area — forming security cordons, keeping protesters at bay, and even those taking refuge from the afternoon sun. A burnt motorbike lies on the road after it was burned by protesters as they gathered outside the US Consulate General, following news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran that assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Karachi on March 1, 2026. — Reuters The protesters, young Shia men, were scattered, their numbers waxing and waning, but not more than a thousand. A couple of hundred angry protesters were crowded at the end of the Mai Kolachi Road, ...

KARACHI: Amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, police on Saturday issued a public safety advisory which stated that Karachi had been placed on “high alert”. The advisory issued by the office of the Karachi additional inspector general of police, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said, “Karachi has been placed on high alert following increased military tensions between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces near the Pak-Afghan border.” “Police and other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have strengthened surveillance and tightened security at key entry-exit points, transportation hubs, sensitive and important places to pre-empt potential security threats,” it said. In the safety guidelines for residents and visitors, the Karachi police urged them to stay vigilant and alert to announcements from local police, law enforcement and provincial officials. The advisory urged the citizens to report suspicious activity and immediately notify local police or emergency services if they observe unusua...

Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, has declared that his party will initiate a large-scale protest campaign after Eid, aiming to secure greater administrative and financial autonomy for Karachi’s local government.

Security was placed on high alert across Punjab and Karachi on Friday following Pakistan’s launch of “Ghazab Lil Haq”, an operation initiated in response to what officials described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces at multiple points along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday framed charges against main suspect Armaghan Qureshi and co-accused Sheraz alias Shavez Bukhari in the Mustafa Amir murder case. Amir, 23, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by his friends — Armaghan and Sheraz — in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Jan 6, 2025. According to the police, the accused stuffed Amir’s body in the trunk of his car and torched it in the Hub area of Balochistan. Both accused denied the charges before the court, which also summoned witnesses and adjourned the hearing until March 12. A final charge sheet against Armaghan in the murder case was filed in August 2025. In the document, Investigating Officer (IO) Muhammad Ali had said that the last known location of the victim and the two suspects was Armaghan’s house in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The IO stated that blood collected from Armaghan’s house allegedly matched samples taken from the body recovered from the car in Hub. The report claimed that CCTV foot...

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting in Karachi to review progress on ongoing development projects across the city.

ISLAMABAD: The upper house of Parliament on Monday echoed with the PPP’s displeasure over recent statements regarding the creation of a separate Karachi province, asserting that it was an inseparable part of Sindh. The development comes two days after the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution terming Karachi an “inseparable” part of Sindh and opposed any move that suggested otherwise. Opposing the resolution in the Sindh Assembly, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had also declared it unconstitutional. On Monday, PPP’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Sherry Rehman, denounced recent statements by certain federal ministers, ostensibly a reference to MQM-P’s Mustafa Kamal and Khaliq Maqbool Siddique. Rehman said that such reckless talk was not only unconstitutional but also a direct provocation to the unity of the federation. “Let me be clear: the PPP is the custodian of Sindh’s unity and no one will be allowed to undermine it,” she said. She said Sindh had always opened its arms to everyone, adding...

KARACHI: A food delivery rider lost his life after a speeding vehicle flipped over and crashed into his stationary motorcycle in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area, according to police. The video of the incident that took place on Sunday was widely shared on social media. South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) told Dawn that the food delivery rider was on his motorcycle outside a bungalow in DHA’s phase IV when a speeding car turned over and crashed into his vehicle. “Both the rider and the car driver were injured in the incident,” he said, adding that they were initially taken to a private hospital in the Clifton area. The rider was later taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in critical condition and died during treatment, the official said. Meanwhile, the car’s driver was at the private hospital in Clifton, and a police mobile was deployed outside the facility for the arrest of the car driver after treatment, DIG Raza said.

KARACHI: A 15-year-old boy lost his life while four people were injured after a fire erupted following an explosion in a residential building in Karachi’s North Nazimabad area on Sunday, according to police and rescue officials. Rescue-1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that the explosion took place on the top floor of Bismillah Residency near Hyderi Market in Block-E of North Nazimabad at Sehri time. The sound of the explosion was heard miles away. He said that two flats caught fire as a result of the explosion, leading to the death of a 15-year-old, while another four people were injured. As per the spokesperson, the fire was brought under control, and the team had completed cooling operations. Earlier, the spokesperson said that four fire tenders were being employed to extinguish the fire, while a snorkel had also been called. He added that the exact nature of the explosion would be ascertained after the fire was brought under control, but said that it could be a gas-related explosion. Meanw...

Karachi - The Provincial Assembly of Sindh on Saturday passed a resolution against a conspiracy aimed at division of the Sindh province.

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Saturday passed a resolution declaring Karachi an “inseparable part” of the province and opposing any move that suggested otherwise. The resolution, tabled by CM Murad and passed with a majority, stated that the House “unequivocally condemns and rejects any conspiracy aimed at the division of Sindh or the creation of a separate province comprising Karachi”. “Karachi is, and shall forever remain, an integral and inseparable part of Sindh,” it declared. The chief minister’s move comes after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has repeatedly called for the Centre’s intervention in Karachi, demanding that the metropolis be made a “federal territory”. The resolution urged “all political stakeholders to refrain from divisive rhetoric or actions that threaten provincial harmony and national cohesion”. It reaffirmed that the “unity, territorial integrity, and historic identity of Sindh are sacred trusts inherited from our forefathers and shall be defended through constitutiona...

The Sindh government has announced plans to add more buses to Karachi’s transport network in a fresh push to ease commuting challenges and modernize public transit across the city.

KARACHI - A building collapse caused by an explosion in Pakistan’s southern megacity of Karachi killed at least 16 people on Thursday (Feb 19), including children, officials said.