Karachi SHO Sharafat Khan was assaulted by worshipers congregating for Friday prayers in Karachi's Haqqani mosque

New Delhi: The Pakistani government has put a ban on Friday prayers to stop the spread of COVID-19. The country, which is not under a strict lockdown, has recorded 4,700 positive cases and 68 deaths.

In spite of ban, religious preachers in Pakistan are asking people to come out for Friday prayers. In a video going viral on social media, a woman police officer is being assaulted by worshippers outside the Haqqani Mosque in Karachi.

​The police officer was attacked after she raised objections to the crowd gathered outside the mosque. A council of Pakistan’s Muslim Scholars had urged people to follow the government orders to restrict congregational prayers amid the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

"People should follow social distancing protocols and pray at home instead of joining large Friday prayer congregations," the council said in a statement.

The assault on the police official is the second such incidence of violence. Last Friday, in Karachis’s Liaquatabad district, people attacked police with stones when they tried to disperse a religious gathering.

Most Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria and others have suspended collective prayers to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Pakistan is under a partial lockdown limited to some cities and provinces. The country has so far recorded 4,700 positive cases and 68 deaths.