RAWALPINDI, Dec 11: President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have condemned the bomb blast in Quetta on Friday which resulted in the death of innocent people and said such cowardly acts would not deter the government from mounting efforts for the country's progress and development.

Both leaders, who met here on Saturday, reiterated their resolve to bring Balochistan and other underdeveloped areas at par with the rest of the country. They stressed that the government would not be deterred by such heinous acts, which were aimed at disturbing peace and harmony.

They directed the authorities concerned to step up their efforts to apprehend those responsible for the blast and ensure they were awarded exemplary punishment.

The president and prime minister said that "as a result of prudent policies" and "far-reaching reforms" the country had achieved economic sovereignty and was on its way to becoming a progressive and modern Islamic welfare state. They reviewed the security situation, state of the economy and political environment in the country.

The president informed the prime minister about his foreign visit. They expressed their satisfaction over the support shown by world leaders regarding Pakistan's perspective on important issues.

They were of the view that the president's interaction with the business community would help boost economic and trade ties with the countries he visited and Pakistan's exports would benefit through greater market access to the US, European Union andmarkets of Latin America.

They also discussed the prime minister's forthcoming visit to China. -APP