ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to ‘restrain’ Friday congregational prayers as new cases of the novel coronavirus continue to emerge across the country.
“It has been decided with a consensus that Friday prayers will be ‘restrained’,” said Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Dr Noor-ul-Haq Qadri during a news conference. “Only mosques’ administration staff and a limited number of worshippers will be allowed to pray inside mosques,” he added.
He clarified that mosques will not be closed but prayers and zikr will continue inside them. Dr Qadri said that the decision had been taken in consultation with ulema belonging to various schools of thought.
“Ulema have been told to tell people to pray inside their homes,” he said. “It is not only the job of the government to control coronavirus but also of the people.”
The minister said that various programmes, classes and examinations across various madressahs in Pakistan had been postponed in light of the outbreak.- Agencies
