ISLAMABAD, April 12: The federal cabinet on Wednesday condemned Tuesday’s explosion in Karachi which claimed 47 lives and expressed determination to bring the culprits to book.

Briefing journalists after a cabinet meeting, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the cabinet was informed by the interior minister that police and Rangers were in control of the situation and, therefore, deployment of army was not required.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz presided over the meeting.

The information minister said the government was certain that the bomb blast was a suicide attack and police had retrieved three unclaimed bodies from the site, two of which were suspected to be of the bombers.

He said the cabinet discussed various leads, including the sectarian factor and involvement of foreign hands in the blast, but it was premature to blame any organisation or element.

Regard the 48-hour ultimatum of the Sunni Tehrik for the arrest of the culprits, the minister said: “The gang involved will not be able to escape from the grip of law.”

It was suspected that the attack was a conspiracy to remove the entire leadership of Sunni Tehrik, the minister said.

The cabinet approved compensation of Rs300,000 to heirs of each dead and Rs50,000 to the injured in the blast as announced by the Sindh government.