India's 'deep sympathy' for Pak blast victims

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday expressed "deep sympathy" for the victims of the explosions in the garrison town Rawalpindi.

Calling the twin blasts in Pakistan "very unfortunate," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday expressed "deep sympathy" for the victims of the explosions in the garrison town Rawalpindi.

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"It’s very unfortunate. We have deep sympathy for the victims," Mukherjee told reporters when asked about the blasts that left at least 25 dead and more than 60 people injured.

According to agency reports from Islamabad, the first explosion ripped through a bus carrying defence ministry employees near Qasim market in Rawalpindi. The second bomb went off in a motorcycle near the R.A. Bazar, located close to the army headquarters. Rawalpindi and Islamabad are twin cities, located adjacent to each other.

The blasts in Rawalpindi come about a week after twin explosions rocked Hyderabad, killing 43 people.

Growing incidence of terrorist attacks in both countries (and the subsequent finger pointing) have further highlighted the need for more effective dialogue and intelligence—sharing between Islamabad and New Delhi.

However, the anti-terror mechanism, set up between India and Pakistan after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Havana last September, has not met since its first meeting, to set ground rules, in March.