◆ Limits on religious gatherings draw fire in Pakistan, India, Israel.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Police clashed with worshipers in Pakistan, India and Israel this week as the devout defied restrictions to attend religious gatherings. Mosques and other houses of worship have been closed and curfews instituted in many countries as governments attempt to slow the virus’ spread.

In Pakistan, clashes broke out in the southern city of Karachi despite a three-hour curfew there Friday to prevent people from congregating at midday prayers. The imam of a mosque had been calling the faithful using a loudspeaker, and when police arrived dozens of worshipers had gathered at the site.

Several police and civilians were injured in the confrontation, and the imam was arrested, according to a police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, people hurled stones from rooftops at policemen attempting to disperse worshipers at a mosque. One policeman was injured in the clashes, according to local media reports.

Worshipers in Israel also have pushed back against government restrictions on religious gatherings. Minor clashes broke out this week in some areas as police entered recalcitrant synagogues to break up illegal services.

Most rabbis have approved private prayers and called on followers to abide by the rules, but members of the ultra-Orthodox communities have been the most resistant to forgo their prayers, which require at least 10 adult males to be gathered multiple times a day.

Rocks thrown by young Orthodox men in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood resulted in minor injuries to an ambulance driver Monday. And Friday, the army cordoned off the city of Bnei Barak near Tel Aviv, where Orthodox members have defied police and are now suffering Israel’s highest rate of COVID-19 infections.

Pakistan, India and Israel have all placed restrictions on religious gatherings. In India and Israel, religious gatherings have been temporarily banned, and in Pakistan, no more than five people are permitted to gather in a mosque at one time. Local Pakistani religious leaders have encouraged people to pray from home.

Allama Tahir Ashrafi, a prominent Pakistani cleric, said overall the vast majority of Pakistanis have respected the restrictions on religious gatherings.

“People are not accustomed to offering Friday’s prayer at home, and they are insisting on offering their prayers in the mosque among the congregation,” Ashrafi said. But, he said, he believes people will adapt to the restrictions.

Pakistan has identified nearly 2,500 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country and recorded 35 deaths. The government was initially slow to react to the coronavirus threat, allowing religious pilgrims to return from Iran with very little screening despite the high levels of infections there. The government has since canceled all international flights into and out of Pakistan, ordered nonessential businesses to close and asked residents to limit travel outside their homes.

India imposed a three-week nationwide lockdown March 24. All international fights are banned from landing in India, and all domestic travel has been suspended. India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has recorded more than 2,500 coronavirus cases and more than 70 deaths.