Coronavirus lockdown: Woman SHO wounded as mob attacks police outside Karachi mosque

KARACHI: A woman SHO was injured on Friday after police came under attack while trying to stop people from praying in large numbers at a mosque in the city. 

A video doing the rounds on social media features the Peerabad SHO, a woman police officer, who can be seen shouting at a large crowd of men exiting a mosque. "Record their video. They attacked me. They broke my glasses as well," she can be seen shouting.

The incident took place in Peerabad, Orangi Town when police came under attack after attempting to stop a large number of people from offering prayers in a mosque over violation of Section 144. The police contingent came under attack when they were pelted with stones.

The situation was brought under control when an additional contingent of police and Rangers personnel arrived at the scene. SSP South spoke to Geo News and said that action will be taken against those who attacked the police contingent.

As the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise throughout Pakistan, the Sindh government has banned more than five persons [Imam, Muazzin and other management] from offering prayers in a mosque.

Police registered a case for violation of Section 144 and rioting against the mosque's management and unidentified persons. Police said that so far, no arrests in relation to the case have been made.

A complete ban on the movement of people and activities from 12:00pm to 3:30pm for Fridays only has also been imposed by the provincial government in order to ensure that people do not assemble in mosques and spread the infection.

The Pakistan Ulema Council has urged the public to offer prayers inside their homes and heed the warnings as well as safety precautions being issued by the government.

While the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan increased to over 4,700 on Friday, the worldwide number of officially confirmed cases of the virus now stands at 1.5 million.

More than 90,000 people have died and positive cases have been reported in 213 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 253,000 are now considered recovered.