BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday sent messages of condolences to their Chinese counterparts respectively over the death of three Chinese engineers in Pakistan.

    In their messages to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, Musharraf and Aziz expressed "shock, indignation and heartfelt sorrow" at the "most horrible act of terrorism."

    The three Chinese engineers, Long Hongbao, Wei Jianpin and ZhaoBin, and their Pakistani driver were shot dead when the car they were riding in was attacked by gunmen on a road in the town of Hub, some 700 km southeast of Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan.

    Musharraf and Aziz expressed "deep sympathy and sincere condolences" to Chinese leaders, the Chinese government, the Chinese people, and especially to the bereaved families.

    All those behind the killing will be tracked and meted out the "most severe punishment" in efforts to safeguard the "rock solid friendship" between the two countries and peoples, they said.

    A group calling itself the Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killings, but the Pakistani authorities have yet to confirm the claim.

    The two leaders spoke highly of the contributions Chinese engineers working in Pakistan have made to the country's economic development.

    They reiterated Pakistan would "take all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of all Chinese nationals in the country.

    Also on Friday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri wentto the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to mourn the dead.

    A special plane carrying the bodies of the engineers left the Faisal military base in Karachi on Friday for Islamabad, where the bodies would be transferred to a transport plane of the Pakistani air force to fly back to China's eastern province of Anhui, home of the engineers. Enditem