Police officers stand guard outside the Lal mosque which is sealed as its cleric denies a government-imposed nationwide lockdown | Photo Credit: AP

Key Highlights Allah sends his wrath when obscenity is common in the society, said the Pakistani cleric Nearly 12,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Pakistan along with 253 deaths

Lahore: As the genesis of the devastating coronavirus pandemic continues to remain a mystery for scientists across the world, a Pakistani cleric has come up with a bizarre theory of his own. He claims that COVID-19 is a wrath of God on people for rampant obscenity and nudity.

Prominent Pakistani cleric Maulana Tariq Jamil stoked a controversy when he said that obscenity and nudity are the reasons behind God's wrath in the form of coronavirus. "Who is making my nation's daughters dance. Their dresses are getting shortened. Allah sends his wrath when obscenity is common in the society," he added.

However, his comments have not gone down well with people in his own country. Women rights activists and civil society members have slammed the cleric for making the controversial remarks on national television.

Jamil's remarks have been called "callous and demeaning" to women. Barrister Maleeka Bokhari, parliamentary secretary of law and justice tweeted, "The spread of a pandemic must never and under no circumstances be correlated or linked to a woman's piety or morality."

"It is dangerous to make this correlation as violent crimes against women/girls continue to take place with impunity," she wrote further.

Even the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that it was appalled at Maulana Jami's statement. Such blatant objectification is unacceptable and, when aired on public television, only compounds the misogyny entrenched in society, said the commission.

As per latest official reports, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in Pakistan is nearing the 12,000-mark while the death toll has risen to 253 so far.