Xi extends condolences over Islamabad blast

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a message of condolences to President Asif Ali Zardari over last week’s deadly explosion in Islamabad.

Xi “strongly condemned the violence and terrorist acts against innocent civilians”, and said China would support Pakistan in fighting terrorism, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.On Friday an attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad before setting off a suicide bomb and killing at least 31 people in the deadliest attack of its kind in Pakistan’s capital in more than a decade.