Pakistani blasts a 'tragedy', says Gordon Brown

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown describes the deadly assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto as a "tragedy," and vows support for Islamabad to deal with the attacks.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on described the deadly assassination attempt on former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto as a "tragedy," and vowed support for Islamabad to deal with the attacks.

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In his first public comments on Thursday's bomb blasts, Brown said Britain had set up a hotline for Pakistani relatives in Britain worried about family members potentially caught up in Karachi.

"It is a tragedy that so many people died. It is a tragedy that these events have happened as people have been planning elections in Pakistan," he said, speaking at the end of European Union summit in Portugal.

"The message must go out that we will not tolerate this terrorist violence. We will give support to the Pakistani authorities in dealing with those terrorists who caused the bombings."

And he said, "We will support at all times the attempts by the Pakistani people to re-establish democracy in their country."