The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has issued an order limiting prayer congregations to "five or less people" as part of its measures to promote social distancing, a notification by the provincial Relief Rehabilitation and Settlement Department said.

The government has taken the decision after consultations with religious scholars who have "unanimously decreed that if deemed appropriate by the government for medical reasons, it may place any restrictions on the number of persons offering prayers by jamaat", the notification read.