Karachi | Pakistan

Three separate traffic accidents in different areas of Karachi within the span of an hour left three people dead, including a woman, and three others injured, rescue officials said.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday met with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui in Karachi, where they discussed the importance of political harmony. This was confirmed in an official statement issued by the Presidency, with sources earlier stating that issues pertaining to Karachi uplift projects, particularly those underway with federal funding and relations between the PPP and MQM-P came under discussion during the meeting. According to the Presidency’s statement, the “importance of national unity, political harmony and continued democracy” was discussed during the meeting. “The president stressed unity and stronger efforts for peace and rule of law,” said a statement posted on X by the Presidency. “The meeting underscored the need for joint efforts to promote peace, stability, and the rule of law in the country,” the statement read. The leaders “exchanged views on the country’s overall internal security situation and matters rel...

A man walks past scores of gas cylinders, while LPG (right) is filled at a shop in North Nazimabad. —Fahim Siddiqi / White Star KARACHI: Following the suspension of supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the city’s gas crisis has worsened amid Ramazan’s peak demand, leaving fasting residents struggling during crucial Sehri and Iftar hours. Meanwhile, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has introduced an unannounced supply schedule, compounding the peoples’ problems. Since the war has broken in Iran around two weeks ago, Karachi’s households have been struggling to cope with the worsening gas shortage across the city. A senior SSGC official, who preferred to be unnamed, told Dawn that the overall gas supply situation needed a lot of “adjustment” following the suspension of LNG supply from Qatar, adding that the gas utility had so far “successfully” managed to ensure gas supplies during Sehri and Iftar. However, with low gas pressure and disrupted supply...

KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD: Several routes in Karachi and Islamabad were closed on Friday as part of security arrangements for Al-Quds Day rallies. Al-Quds Day is observed globally every year since it was first announced by Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The day is observed on the last Friday of Ramazan to highlight the “atrocities of Israel against Palestinians”. However, with the possibility of Eidul Fitr falling on next Friday if the Shawwal moon is sighted on March 19, the Al-Quds Day is being observed today. Karachi In a statement issued by the Office of the Karachi traffic deputy inspector general of police, citizens were informed that a religious group would organise a “Youm-i-Quds Rally” after Friday prayers, marching from Numaish to Aman Tower. Accordingly, the road from Boat Basin towards Jinnah Bridge remained during the day closed. The road from PIDC going towards Jinnah Bridge on M.T. Khan Road was closed in both directions. Traffic police said, “the closures were being implemented as p...

Traffic police in Karachi have announced the closure of several major roads on Friday due to security arrangements for rallies marking Youm-e-Quds.

KARACHI: Several routes in Karachi, including the M.A. Jinnah Road, were closed for traffic on Wednesday while the main Youm-i-Ali procession set off from Nishtar Park and culminated at Imambargah Hussainia Iranian. Strict security arrangements were in place as the country observed Youm-i-Ali to mark the martyrdom day of Hazrat Ali. A statement by the traffic police said: “Due to security reasons, M.A. Jinnah Road from Gurumandir to Tower and from Saddar Dawakhana, Empress Market to Regal Chowk will remain closed.” There was no confirmation of the roads being reopened until the last updates were received at around midnight. Earlier, a statement issued by the East Zone police said the main procession had departed from Nishtar Park, with Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Dr Farrukh Ali and other senior officers present at the gathering’s head. A strict monitoring and checking system was established at the entrance and exit routes of the procession and gatherings through walk-through gates, metal detectors and CCTV...

Consider this: she gets back home after a long hard day at work. “It’s 10pm already,” she thinks to herself, as something outside the window catches her eye. It’s her roommate excitedly waving a cricket bat at her. She now begins to notice her surroundings: almost 15 girls from her neighbourhood out on the street. All positioned for the game, all looking as disheveled as one can be, yet they all have this fiery spark in their eyes. Clearly they feel passionately for the game. They play for the next two hours. Unperturbed by any restrictions. The dark shadows on the street do not scare them. Time is of no concern. They feel free. Their energy, loud passionate voices, and roaring laughter fill the dimly lit street. No one cares for their appearance, they just run and trip and get back up. They get into silly brawls over the rules of the game. By the end of the night, they are drained but they return to their homes content. The kind of contentment almost every young girl and woman in Karachi is starved for; to o...

• Police officers tell six-member panel around 300 protesters reached US mission from Numaish without high-ups’ consent • Say personnel of Sindh police deployed outside consulate fired 30 ‘aerial shots’ to stop the mob from entering foreign mission • ToRs of JIT silent about fixing responsibility of killings KARACHI: A Joint Interrogation Team (JIT) probing the facts and circumstances leading to the March 1 violence was informed that “one US marine” stationed at the American mission in Karachi resorted to firing in “retaliation” when protesters stormed the consulate building after breaching security, it emerged on Saturday. The JIT was also told that Sindh police personnel deployed at US consulate fired 30 shots into the air to stop the mob from storming the complex. As many as 12 people were killed and 49 others, including seven policemen, sustained bullet wounds during the violent protest near the US consulate against the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in coordinated US-Israel strikes on Tehran. On...

KARACHI: The University of Karachi (KU) has announced to hold all morning classes online from Monday (tomorrow) till the end of Ramazan. According to a KU spokesperson, evening classes have already been online since the start of Ramazan and that the latest decision will now provide relief to morning students given the significant hike in fuel prices. “Keeping in view the convenience of its students during Ramazan and transportation restraints likely to be caused by the recent price hike in petroleum products, the University of Karachi has decided that all the morning classes from Monday, March 9, 2026, till end of the month of Ramazan will be conducted only online,” the varsity said in a notification. Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2026

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).