A Pakistani court has sentenced to death 14 militants from rival Muslim sectarian groups.

Eight members of a Sunni sect were convicted yesterday of attacking the Iranian Cultural Centre in the town of Multan in 1997 and killing its Iranian director and seven Pakistani employees.

The other six defendants were linked to a militant group from the minority Shia community.

They were condemned to death for a shooting at a Sunni mosque that left at least 22 people dead.

Multan is in Punjab province, which has been plagued by sectarian violence in recent years.