PESHAWAR, Nov 30: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday sentenced a man to death on five counts and fined him Rs1 million after finding him guilty of killing five persons inside a mosque.

Judge Anwar Ali Khan announced the sentence, saying the prosecution had proved its case against the accused, Ajab Khan, a resident of Dag Besud area.

Ajab was also convicted of rioting under Section 148 of Pakistan Penal Code and sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs50,000.

The judge issued perpetual warrants for the arrest of six other accused, Azam, Momin, Saeedullah, Haroon, Zahidullah and Abidullah, after declaring them proclaimed offenders.

The prosecution claimed that the accused had attacked people in the jurisdiction of Pabbi police station in Nowshera on September 8, 2010 during Ramadan, killing Safeerullah, Rehmat Ali, Taj Muhammad, Fazal Maula and Arshullah.

The complainant, Zar Ali, who is brother of deceased Safeerullah, contended through his lawyer Saeed Khan that the accused was directly involved in the killings and that testimony of eyewitnesses confirmed it. A feud over the writing of 'Ya Muhammad' slogan on the mosque walls reportedly led to the killing of five people by the rival group.