A cleric was arrested in Karachi on Sunday over allegations of raping his 14-year-old student, said Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) East Dr Samiullah Soomro.

A student of Madressahtul Uloom on Sunday informed Gulistan-i-Jauhar police that his teacher had sexually abused him on Friday night inside the madressah, following which a first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 377 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Dr Soomro said.

Section 377 relates to "unnatural offences" defining them as "voluntarily [having] carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal."

The accused was arrested within seven hours of the report being filed, SSP East said, adding that the medical test of the boy showed he had been raped.

The SSP has announced a Rs10,000 cash award for Sharea Faisal Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Hamza Amanullah and his team.

The latest incident comes in the wake of widespread outrage and demonstrations across the country protesting against the rape and murder of 6-year-old Zainab Amin in Kasur, whose body was recovered from a trash heap in the city earlier this week.

As the country reeled from Zainab's murder, the body of a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and murdered was recovered from a field in Tasawarabad, some 40km off Sargodha on Thursday.