Analysis-Anger among Pakistan’s Shi’ites underlines its Iran-U.S. tightrope walk

try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Oil prices jump over 4% as Middle East war escalates, fuels supply fears Iran conflict latest: Hegseth says Iran conflict has "only just begun" Gold hands back gains as US dollar rebounds; Middle East war continues Morgan Stanley explains why gold is falling despite Iran escalation (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Analysis-Anger among Pakistan’s Shi’ites underlines its Iran-U.S. tightrope walk By World Published 03/05/2026, 02:46 AM Updated 03/05/2026, 02:48 AM Analysis-Anger among Pakistan’s Shi’ites underlines its Iran-U.S. tightrope walk 0 By Mubasher Bukhari and Saad Sayeed LAHORE, March 5 - Pakistan’s efforts to preserve close ties with President Donald Trump are being put to the test after protesters stormed the U.S. consulate in Karachi last week and poured onto streets elsewhere over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli strikes. Islamabad is looking to balance the anger among its minority Shi’ite Muslim community, the second-largest in the world after Iran, and its alliance with Washington, underlined by its membership of Trump’s Board of Peace this year, where Israel also has a seat at the table. Complicating the challenge is Pakistan’s worst fighting in years with Afghanistan, the other nation on its western border along with Iran. Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S. has strengthened since Trump returned to the White House last year, ending more than a decade on Washington’s blacklist and providing a useful counterbalance to its troubled ties with India. The mercurial Trump has a close relationship with Field Marshal Asim Munir, the most powerful man in Pakistan. Pakistan also maintains deep military, economic and political ties with Saudi Arabia and recently signed a strategic defence pact that states aggression against either state should be treated as an attack on both. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been targeted by Iran in its counter-stri...