Despite an absence of information on the identity or motivation of the attackers who remained at large last night, the Foreign Minister pointed to Islamic terrorist groups within Pakistan as the culprits.

''This is clearly another cowardly terrorist attack aimed at trying to destabilise the state of Pakistan'', Mr Smith said in Sydney yesterday.

The diplomatic representatives in Canberra of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka were united in expressing dismay and outrage at the assault on Sri Lanka's cricket team that left at least eight people dead and wounded six team members.

Pakistan high commissioner Jalil Jilani said the incident had ''sent shockwaves throughout Pakistan and our region''.

''This is a big tragedy, not least because cricket is in the blood of Pakistanis, and this attack will be condemned by everyone in Pakistan,'' the high commissioner said.

Mr Jilani said that the Pakistan President and Prime Minister had both spoken to their Sri Lankan counterparts to express their dismay and to give assurances that the attack would be fully investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Mr Jilani also highlighted the sacrifice of the six Pakistani police officers who had been killed in the attack.

Sri Lanka high commissioner Senaka Walgampaya said the attack was ''very unfortunate'' and that his Government ''condemned terrorism absolutely'', but there was no information to hand about the identity of the attackers.

Spokesman for the Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka Nimal Liyanage condemned the attacks on the Sri Lankan team.

''Pakistan at the moment is a hotbed, I couldn't speculate on who is responsible. It's just purely a terrorist act to draw people's attention to get publicity,'' he said.

The chairman of the Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations, Dr Sittampalam Ragavan, said he was ''100 per cent sure'' that the Tamil Tiger terrorist group was not responsible for the attack.