President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz strongly condemned two bomb blasts. In their separate messages, they said they had been deeply shocked by the dastardly act. Musharraf said he condemned this attack in the strongest possible words. This was a conspiracy against democracy. The president appealed to the nation and especially the people of Karachi to exercise patience and calm in this hour and assured that the government would take every step to trace the culprits and award them exemplary punishment. Musharraf directed the Sindh government to hold inquiry into the tragic incident. He said the government would bear all the expenses for the medical treatment of the injured. Aziz said the bomb blasts were a dastardly act, as these had caused the loss of many innocent lives. He said this was a severe tragedy and he felt deeply shocked over it. The prime minister said the government was determined to trace the culprits and award them most exemplary punishment. He appealed to the people to remain calm and show patience to face this tragedy. Aziz said the perpetrators of this criminal act were conspirators against the interest of the country and the people of Pakistan. They had done this to harm the efforts being made to strengthen democracy in the country.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/491438