Pakistani police fired directly at protesters near Serena Chowk in Islamabad and in Gilgit between 1:16 PM and 2:15 PM UTC on March 1, 2026, killing seven in Gilgit with 26 injured and hurting several in Islamabad including one shot in the head, as protesters mourning Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death attempted to storm diplomatic compounds, according to X posts by @khantainer and @IhsanTipu. Police faced dual challenges in preventing crowds from entering Islamabad's diplomatic enclave while protecting them from potential attacks by anti-Shia groups like ISKP, per @IhsanTipu. In Gilgit, security forces opened fire on protesters, leaving seven dead and 26 injured, as reported by @khantainer during the 59-minute window. Protesters in Islamabad attacked police deployed to block access to the diplomatic enclave, building on earlier dispersals in Peshawar and arson in the Red Zone, according to prior Government of Pakistan statements and X reports from @khorasandiary and @iihtishamm. These incidents follow Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's postponement of his Russia visit amid the unrest and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's calls for peaceful protests, as stated by the Government of Pakistan on X and earlier updates.
