At least eight persons were killed and 19 others injured Friday morning when motorcyclists fired on Qadiyani's prayer house in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, local TV reports said.

Motorcyclists opened fire on worshippers of Qadiyani sect in the city of Mandi Bahauddin, 100 kilometers south of Islamabad, when the latter gathered for morning prayers,

Local TV reports quoted the police as saying that some unknown motorcyclists resorted to indiscriminate firings at around 5:00 a.m. Friday when people were busy in prayers, killing two persons on the spot and injuring several others.

Police and the relief teams, rushing to the spot immediately on receipt of information, sent the wounded to a hospital where six of them succumbed to their injuries.

Among the 19 injured, four are said to be in critical condition. Police has sealed the area by posting patrols at vintage points and hounding for the culprits.

Security was stepped up across Punjab after the shooting.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The police who have described the incident as terrorist act, are investigating the incident.

Qadiyani sect was declared non-Muslim in 1974 by the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government for their belief that Prophet Mohammed is not the last Prophet.

Source: Xinhua