Outcry in Pakistan as prime minister links rape with how women dress

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has stirred controversy by once again linking rapes to how women dress, provoking condemnation from political opponents and rights activists.

Khan, in an interview with "Axios on HBO," suggested men were tempted into committing sex crimes when women dress immodestly, especially in societies like Pakistan.

"If women wear fewer clothes, it will have an impact on men unless they are robots," Khan, 68, said in the interview, repeating similar remarks made in April.

"It reflects his sick mentality towards women. By blaming victims, he (Khan) had stooped low," said Marriyum Aurangzeb, spokeswomen for the party of former premier Nawaz Sharif.

"Blaming women's dress for rape is the worst response to a heinous crime. He must be ashamed of his words," said Sherry Rahman, a senator from the party of ex-president Asif Zardari.

Khan, an Oxford graduate who sported a playboy image during his days as one of the world's most famous cricketers, drew condemnation last year when he ordered the promotion of a police officer who blamed a woman for her gang rape on a highway, saying she should not have been driving alone late at night.