The Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz strongly condemned the killing of three Chinese engineers in southwestern Baluchistan province, state media reported yesterday.
The Pakistani leaders branded Wednesday's shooting by gunmen on motorcycles in the remote town of Hub as "an act of blatant terrorism", the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted them as saying.
Musharraf and Aziz said the federal government would take all measures necessary to catch the killers and that it had been ordered to step up its investigation.
"The president and the prime minister expressed heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved families," the news agency's report said.
The killings come just before Musharraf leaves for China on a five-day official visit to strengthen the existing economic, political and defense links between the two closest regional allies.
Chinese state press said yesterday that Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) had ordered Islamabad to catch the killers and to ensure the safety of other Chinese nationals working in the country.
A group calling itself the Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.
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