KARACHI: A male Pakistani lawmaker has drawn jeers for proposing a committee to stop the "mental torture" of men by women.

Jam Tamachi Unar suggested the idea Thursday, after the assembly in Sindh province resolved to create a panel to investigate the torture of women in the country's rural areas.

The proposal drew shouts of "Shame!" from female assembly members. Most of the women stormed out of the session, while some of the men laughed.

Unar told The Associated Press that he was only joking but that it's a "bitter truth that the same way women are tortured in rural areas, men are the victims of mental torture in urban neighborhoods."

Violence against women is common in Pakistan, partly thanks to patriarchal attitudes and lax law enforcement.