Pak prime minister expresses condolence on Mangalore tragedy

Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani today conveyed to prime minister Manmohan Singh his country's "deepest condolences and sympathies" on the death of 158 people in the Air India plane crash in Mangalore.

 "I was deeply shocked to learn of the tragic crash of an Air India Express aircraft this morning in Karnataka, resulting in the loss of many precious lives," Gilani said in the message to Singh.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi telephoned his Indian counterpart SM Krishna and said his country fully shared the grief of the people of India and that "our hearts go out to the bereaved families".

Qureshi, currently in Cairo on an official visit, telephoned Krishna and conveyed his "deepest condolences over the tragic crash", according to a statement from the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

Krishna thanked Qureshi for conveying the condolences and calling him from Egypt.

Gilani said, "On behalf of the government and people of Pakistan and on my own behalf, I would like to convey our deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families."

The Air India Boeing 737-800 plane on way to Mangalore from Dubai overshot the runway and crashed at the Mangalore airport in Karnataka, killing 158 people in the first major plane crash in India since 2000.