Eight killed in mosque shooting

Armed assailants opened fire on a mosque belonging to a small Muslim sect in eastern Pakistan this morning, killing at least eight people and wounding 19 others.

The attack on the mosque belonging to Ahmadiyya sect happened in the village of Mong, about 240 miles north-east of Multan, a main city in the eastern Punjab province, said Mohammed Arif, an area police officer.

“So far we only know that three men riding on a motorcycle suddenly came in the village Friday morning. Two of them went inside the mosque and started firing,” he said.

Arshad Nawaz, a doctor at a government hospital in the area, confirmed that the death toll from the mosque attack had risen to eight, while 19 people were still being treated. Some were in critical condition.

An estimated 150 people from Ahmadiyya sect live in Mong, which has 18,000 people.

Masood Ahmed Raja, a cardiologist who belongs to the sect, said he was going to the Baitul Hamad mosque when he saw three masked men fleeing on a motorcycle.

“I had no idea who these men were, but when I reached the mosque, I heard cries and saw blood everywhere,” he said. “I don’t know who attacked our mosque, but it seems to be an act of religious terrorism.”

Mumtaz Ali Khan, a 55-year-old injured man at a government hospital, said he was praying inside the mosque when he heard firing and saw people falling down.

“I also felt as if something had hit me. Then, I fell down and found myself in the hospital when I opened my eyes,” he said.

Abu Huraira, 16, aid he saw one masked man standing behind him with a gun in his hand.

“That masked man looked at the people who were falling and bleeding, and then quietly ran away,” he said.

Waqar Haider, the district police chief, said police had started searching areas near the village. He refused to speculate on who was responsible, but previous attacks have been blamed on outlawed Islamic militant groups.

Friday’s attack coincided with the second anniversary of the death of Maulana Azam Tariq, the head of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba group, which has been blamed for the killings of hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims, Christians and some people from Ahmadiyya.

It came weeks after Pakistan said it had foiled terrorist attacks by arresting Asif Chotto, the reputed head of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, who had ties with followers of Tariq.

The head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, which promotes the rights of minorities in mainly Sunni Muslim Pakistan, condemned the attack Friday. Shahbaz Bhatti, the alliance chief, said the government had failed to protect minorities.

The Ahmadiyya sect was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th century Indian religious leader who claimed to be a prophet seeking Islam’s renewal. The religious group differs with other mainstream Muslim groups over the definition of Islam’s founder Mohammad as the “final” prophet.

Ahmadiyas have been persecuted and ostracised in many countries. Pakistani law forbids them from calling themselves Muslim.