Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing Monday sent a telegram to his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri to offer deep sympathy and condolences to victims in the areas stricken by rains and snow.

"I believe that under the strong leadership of the Pakistani government, the people in the disaster-stricken areas can surely surmount the natural disasters and rebuild their homes at an early date," Li said.

According to local reports, the death toll caused by heavy rains and snow in Pakistan over the past two weeks reached 400 on Sunday.

Some 2000 people are missing in floods and avalanches, which have also caused dam breaks.

The rains have badly affected the impoverished southwestern Balochistan and Northwest Frontier provinces. Northern areas, bordering China and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, have also been affected.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2005)