Iqbal Haider of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said there was nothing wrong with women and men participating together in races, and urged Islamic groups “to show flexibility.”

Hundreds of supporters from the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum, Islamic coalition threw stones last Sunday at men, women and children participating in a three-kilometer (1.9-mile) race in Gujranwala, an industrial city in eastern Punjab province.

“We condemn the attack on the participants of the road race in Gujranwala,” Haider told reporters in the southern city of Karachi.

The stoning injured 18 people and led to the arrest of 25 stone-throwers.

MMA says it is “indecent for women to run in the streets,” and has asked the government to ban co-ed marathons.