Re: Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore.
its really sad,my heart goes out to the families of the victims,hats off to our our brave policemen n ofcourse the Srilankan players who were brave enough to come to Pakistan in such circumstances.this could be the result of the recent political conflicts as an attempt to destabalise the country and the government.
One does not need to be an einstein to see that this unfortunate incident bears similarities to deadly attacks in Mumbai in India last November. (Rickshaw ambush v boat ambush; 10-12 attackers in both cases, ? similar weapons used)
Are we then to assume that these two attacks were carried out essentially by the same group of morons; worryingly all 12-14 terrorists are on the loose.
Even more worryingly one does not know many more terrorists are still at large?
Where will they strike next?
Who will be their next innocent victims?
i) Pakistan is the victim here, in case you failed to realize, the 8 people who died werent foriegners, they were Pakistani
ii) We'll see about who breaks whose back.
I agree with you that Pakistan is the victim here but I feel only us Pakistani realize this situation. Few years ago no one knew where Pakistan was on the map but recent global developments and especially the so called war against terrorism, attacks on NATO military convoys, blame on Pakistan for the Mumbai bombing, capture of 9/11 criminals in Pakistan have turned the world opinion against Pakistan. Whether or not Pakistan is at fault here is irrelevant: what matters is that Pakistan is being viewed in negative opinions.
LOL,,,
The only thing you are good at.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that it will be end of Pakistan ..... but in the last few months Iraq has seen much more stability then Pakistan. In the two months of 2009 there have been about 300-400 killings in Iraq against more then 1200 in Pakistan!!!!!
Kashmir has had almost neglegible human loss comapred to the two !!!!
Perhaps not and I can certainly understand your point. However, being shunned by or at least being labeled as state that harbors terrorists and condones terrorism (according to India) is where it all starts. War against Iraq didn't start overnight but rather at very gradual pace. Consider that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 bombing and the country was launched a war upon anyway. The US government through lies and deceit started to infiltrate the airwaves and then convinced an entire population that launching a war against Iraq was the only way to defeat terrorism. Did the war in Iraq not leave it in a state of comatose? It certainly did. And I am afraid Pakistan might have to go through this ordeal as well: little by little.
Re: Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore.
Just once I would like to see Pakistanis come out and admit that there is a problem with their country.
Just once would I like to see Pakistanis come out in the streets and take a hardline stance against Sunni extremism.
Just once would I like to see Pakistanis stop blaming the Jews, Israel, U.S., India, etc., for their ills and look inward for all of their faults.
Just once would I like to see Pakistanis stop supporting al-Qaeda and the Taliban and take a stand against them.
But of course there will be plenty of Pakistanis who think it is never their fault and claim the Taliban are demonized unfairly by the West.
Get your head checked. And urgently!!!
Extremists didn’t attack Indian team when they were touring, neither did they attack the English team, nor any other. Just Sri Lankan? Oh my! how can that be…
The weapons recovered include Anti-Tank Rocket. Taliban don’t use that.
This is what was used and recovered from the ones trying to flee: http://xbradtc.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/m72law-1.jpg
This is what you see the taliban using: http://world.guns.ru/grenade/rpg-7.jpg
Huge difference!
We cannot with certainty, at this point, blame anyone. It would be foolish to even speculate beyond the necessary means. I don’t think FIA under Rehman Malik is capable of investigating the “stolen milk bottle” let alone an incident of this scale. ISI must be asked for help, and those arrested shouldn’t be hidden away somewhere, their tribunal must be made transparent with media covering it all.
Enough of this nonsense by civilian dictatorship already…
Oh really? The worldwide most follow muftiah has banned her son from playing cricket? Darn, now I need to stop playing cricket.
And we have blind generalisers here accusing whole nation rolling their eyes?
Your role model of a poster “Amad” is an emotional fool. No conclusive reports have come out yet. Stop shouting “Its us its us”.
Your country? Then you have no right to discuss Pakistan’s internal matter. And stop linking people to some kid’s blog…
Mods, please remove the link. This joker is just trolling.
Re: Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore.
*i was watching the news and i find it totally disgusting when politicians sit all comfy on their asses and talk about 'security lapses' just to indulge in the blame game and take advantage of this tragedy. lets not downplay the importance of lives lost in defense of our guests, the real Pakistanis out there who are in the eye of this storm. if the targets themselves can find it in them to appreciate their defense, then our politicians should rise above this despicable behavior too, put the blame squarely where it belongs for once! thats the most disturbing part of it all, instead of coming together to fight this evil, they are busy pointing fingers to further their own cause. *
The only thing you are good at.
Ah, almost like rubbing it in... :D
What the hell was PCB thinking? They didnt know enough about the security situation to handle this. lame PCB.
Incompetence is not an excuse. The Sri Lankan Players had security equal to visiting heads of state or that is what the Pakistani government was saying. I feel that there is more to it than that meets the eye. Army should have been on standby. I feel that The terrorists were deliberately allowed to get away.
Come on do you even read what you write. Why cant the Taliban have a choice of weapons. Cant they choose the kind of weapons they use. Or has a fatwa been issued against certain kind of weapons. Dont get me started on the source of these weapons. Weapons are available in the interational market and it is the terrorist’s choice to buy which ones.
I agree that it is not possible to blame anybody with certainity at this point in time. But there are certain points that need to kept in mind before an attempt is made to pin the blame on anybody
FORMER Pakistan Test star Ramiz Raja says a minibus driver gave his life saving ICC match referee Chris Broad during the terror attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore.
Raja said the driver of the umpires’ minibus, travelling behind the Sri Lanka team bus, was shot dead after standing in front of Englishman Broad during the attacks, which left eight people dead and seven Sri Lanka squad members injured.
Australian umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel were in the minibus but were not injured when the convoy came under fire.
Raja heard gun blasts on his way to the Gaddafi Stadium where he was due to commentate the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
He only avoided the incident after deciding not to follow the official convoy to the ground as he normally would.
“It was quite bad. There was a lot of firing and a lot of bloodshed but there are stories of heroism as well,” Raja told Sydney radio 2KY .
“I don’t know if it’s been mentioned in the international press or not but the driver who was driving the umpires’ van was shot dead and he came in the way during the attack because he stood in front of Chris Broad and gave his life away.
“And then the fourth umpire (Ahsan Raza) was shot critically and Chris Broad jumped on the fourth umpire to make sure he didn’t get hit further.
“There’s a lot of camaraderie and stories of valour and character that may not get a lot of notice but I think they need to be told.”
The Sri Lankan touring squad was airlifted from Gaddafi Stadium by helicopter before flying out of Lahore, abandoning a tour which was only arranged after India refused to visit.
Shocking terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket team | Asian Tribune
By Asif Haroon Raja
A horrifying and shocking incident has taken place on the morning of 3 February in Lahore. A band of terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team moving in a coach from their hotel towards Gaddafi stadium. The coach and a vehicle carrying cricket officials were escorted by a police van and a jeep in which the SP was traveling and a police van in rear.
As it was moving past Liberty Chowk Gulberg close to the stadium, the convoy was fired at from three directions. There was intense cross firing between the police and the unknown terrorists which resulted into the death of five policemen and two civilians and injury to five Sri Lankan players including head coach, and two civilians. Sri Lankan players Mahela Jayawardne, Kumara Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavithana and two cricket officials, one from Sri Lanka and other from Pakistan received bullet wounds.
Others who got slight injuries as a result of shrapnel were Thilana Samarawerra, Ajantha Mendis and head coach. With the grace of God, all are completely out of danger. The second test has been cancelled and the Sri Lankan team is being dispatched back to Colombo today in a special charted plane.
There is a sense of foreboding and gloom in Pakistan in general and Lahore in particular and everyone is feeling grief stricken over the horrible incident. While they are extremely sad over the sad demise of those who laid down their lives fighting the terrorists and injuries caused to their honorable guests, they are thanking God that a great tragedy has been averted and the designs of enemies of Pakistan thwarted.
The unknown masked terrorists twelve in number, aged between 20-30 years had come in rickshaws and took positions at about seven points in pairs. Two persons were dressed in jeans and shirts while others in Shalwar-kamees and rucksacks filled with Kalashnikov rifle, rocket launchers, ammunition and grenades. As the two vehicles were traversing the liberty roundabout, the terrorists started indiscriminate firing on the vehicles using Kalashnikov weapons.
The driver of the vehicle in which cricket officials were seated was shot and killed and Pakistani umpire Ahsan seriously injured. The driver of the coach was also fired at but he survived. A rocket launcher was fired but mercifully missed the target. A grenade was also lobbed at the coach carrying players it rolled under the moving vehicle and exploded in the air. The players sitting inside ducked under the seats and driver maintaining his nerves raced his vehicle towards the stadium. Although the terrorists were well rehearsed and trained, their dangerous plan was foiled because of swift and efficient response of the police.
The terrorists after committing the act ran away throwing away their rucksacks and armaments and made a vain attempt to hijack a car near Firdausi Market in the neighborhood. The recovered items from a parked white car near the site of crime and a rickshaw contained rucksacks, grenades, ammunition magazines, suicide jackets, Kalashnikov rifles and rocket launchers. Four suspects with arms have already been nabbed and another car impounded.
It is worth recalling that in the backdrop of security concerns in Pakistan, no country was prepared to send its cricket team to Pakistan. When Indian cricket team cancelled the scheduled one-day series and test-cricket series in Pakistan and flatly refused to come causing huge monetary loss to Pakistan Cricket Board, Colombo expressed its willingness to send its cricket team to Pakistan.
India put extreme pressure on Sri Lanka to reconsider its decision and cancel the planned visit. Over ruling security concerns and brushing aside excessive Indian pressure, much to the chagrin and annoyance of India, Sri Lanka decided to send its team and it took part in one-day cricket series played in major cities of Pakistan. One-day series was comprehensively won by Sri Lanka team because of its outstanding form in batting, bowling and fielding. Soon after, the three test series commenced and the first test terminated in a draw. The second test was in play since 01 February at Lahore and on 3 February the teams were to play the third day of the test match.
The decision of Sri Lankan government to send its team to Pakistan was taken in the wake of excellent Sri Lanka-Pakistan relations in all departments. Other than China, Sri Lanka is one country which is loved by Pakistani people. The people of Pakistan love sports particularly cricket which is watched by all ages. The ongoing test matches series was providing great entertainment to the Pakistanis. Despite the fact that Sri Lankan team was bashing the Pakistani team, the cricket loving spectators cheered them lustily. The sad incident has anguished each and every Pakistani and there is sense of disbelief, shock and distress. Every Pakistani is feeling aggrieved over the gory incident and are extremely upset. Notwithstanding that some criminal Pakistanis bought over by foreign agencies would be involved; there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that foreign hands were involved. Pakistan is under intense attacks of sabotage and subversion since 2005 spearheaded by RAW and assisted by Mossad and CIA.
This attack is on the pattern of Mumbai attacks which were undertaken by one dozen terrorists and India had squarely laid the blame on Pakistan within hours of the incident. The only difference is that in Mumbai, the terrorists had taken the whole port city of Mumbai for three days killing 180 people including foreigners and security personnel. The 4000 security forces including 1200 elite force of India remained helpless for over 72 hours. Manmohan Singh had warned Pakistan that it will have to pay a price for it. Indian hawkish elements within political and literary circles have been urging India to take revenge from Pakistan for the embarrassment it suffered in Mumbai and pay it in the same coin.
Conversely, in Lahore, the small police force fought the terrorists bravely and managed to save the guests who had been deliberately targeted. Unlike the Indians who had started crying hoarse and blaming Pakistan without even carrying out preliminary investigations, the response of Pakistani media and officials and analysts has been guarded and defensive. This is notwithstanding that each Pakistani is convinced that no Pakistani could have thought of harming any individual from Sri Lanka and none other than RAW was behind it. Tens of RAW agents have been arrested in FATA, Baluchistan and in Lahore. Many more are likely to be nabbed in the wake of peace deals in Swat and Bajaur.
The timings of the terrorist attack in Lahore are meaningful. It has been undertaken at a time when an elected government in Punjab has been sacked and Governor Rule imposed and there are wide scale protests throughout the country particularly in Punjab over the unconstitutional and unwarranted act. Governor Salman Taseer has changed the entire bureaucracy and senior police officers and his entire focus is towards bringing in PPP government in Punjab. Taking advantage of the raised tempers between the PML-N and PPP and volatile situation in Punjab, a targeted attack on the pattern of Mumbai has been staged to achieve certain objectives.
**Some of the motives behind the attack are as under. **
1: Add fuel to fire in Punjab.
2: Impress upon the world that even Punjab has become insecure and hence Pakistan is turning into an ungovernable and failed state.
3: Prove to the world that Pakistan is an unsafe place and no country should ever think of sending its sports team to Pakistan.
4: Further weaken Pakistan economy, discourage investors, isolate Pakistan and get it declared as a terrorist state.
5: Give a mortal blow to Pakistan cricket and to weaken Sri Lankan cricket team which is the real challenge to Indian cricket team in the coming world cup.
6: Cover up the embarrassment of Mumbai and humiliate Pakistan.
7: Stage-manage Mumbai like attack in Pakistan to prove that it was Pakistan and not India that had masterminded Mumbai attacks.
8: Spoil Pakistan-Sri-Lanka relations.
9: Teach Sri Lanka a lesson for not heeding to its command of not sending its cricket team.
At the same time, assuage the hurt feelings of Indian Tamils wailing over the successes achieved by Sri Lankan forces in crushing RAW sponsored LTTE insurgency in northern Sri Lanka by targeting the whole Sri Lankan beloved cricket team.
One shudders to think if the detractors had succeeded in their evil design of eliminating Sri Lankan cricket team, irrespective of the sinister motives and objectives of India which is antagonist to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the grisly incident has failed to make any negative effect on warm relations between the two countries.
The most satisfying thing is that despite such a shocking happening, not a single Sri Lankan player or official expressed any negative feeling. Jaysuriyaa said that such terror acts can take place anywhere in the world. It speaks of the greatness of Sri Lankans. The positive stance adopted by Sri Lanka has poured coldwater on the sinister designs of adversaries of Pakistan. The two have already agreed to establish a joint inquiry team to trace the culprits and give them exemplary punishments. India has refused to hold joint investigations on Mumbai incident since it knows that such an enquiry would expose its drama. So far all roads from Lahore lead towards India.
Pakistan government in line with its traditional policy of appeasement towards India is as usual remaining tight-lipped and is inclined towards blaming the Islamic militants within Pakistan and not RAW. The west and India loving Pakistani analysts like Imtiaz Alam have closed the window opening toward India and opened the FATA window. Unlike the Indian writers, journalists and analysts who collectively pointed fingers at Pakistan without any evidence, our liberals choose to play to Indian tunes. Now that the two brotherly countries Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to investigate the incident jointly, it is in our mutual interest to expose the face of the real perpetrators and hold them accountable.
**Before I jam brakes, I may hazard to ask Interior Ministry and Punjab government under controversial Taseer as to why the worthy guests were not provided with bullet proof vehicle? Why a reserve elite force did not follow up the convoy and why police route lining not done as in the case of VIP movements? Why was no heed paid to the intelligence report of 22 January which forewarned that ten RAW terrorists had entered Lahore and they would be targeting Sri Lankan team? Is it not high time that we let go our apologetic, defensive and reactive policies and become more proactive to safeguard our national interests and our pride? **
**Asif Haroon Raja **is a security and defence analyst based in Rawalpindi.
Re: Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore.
SriLankan cricket team took the incident calmly because they know few things about terrorist attacks, the objective of any terrorism is a want of political dominance, people say they are mad, mindless but there is a way to this madness 'capturing land and its people' or 'using aggression for there own cause like in the case of LTTE', for me Hittler is a terrorist because he wanted Germany to rule the world against worlds will, here terrorist organizations aim is to rule the land they have attacked, here people have to be rational and save the country.
[note] This has nothing to do with the Mumbai bombings![/note]
According to minister Nabeel Gabol, India is involved in the attack...as the weapons used in the attack were made in INDIA...
More bull crap, since when has India started manufacturing AKs and RPGs?
Now Murali questions about the security!
Murali questions security lapse
Cricinfo staff
March 4, 2009
Muttiah Muralitharan has questioned whether the terrorists who perpetrated Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lankans had received inside information as to the team's movements. In a chilling account of the Lahore shootout, Murali said the precise timing of the attack suggested the terrorists could have been tipped off about timing and security arrangements.
"Somehow in this incident there were no police with guns on the bus," Murali told Australian radio. "If someone was there with a gun we would have had a chance of defending ourselves. **Normally all the buses go and we have four or five escorts. We left at 8.30am and Younis Khan (and the Pakistanis) at 8.35am. We divided into two, maybe they knew the information for the right time. **They tried to shoot the driver. Then they were shooting both sides of the bus and they counted 39 holes."
Murali's comments, if proven, would prove a crushing blow to Pakistan's hopes of hosting cricket in the near future. Law enforcement agencies in the country have long been accused of aiding Taliban militants, and any suggestion that the attack on the Sri Lankans was executed with the assistance of local security forces will heighten concerns that Pakistan is unfit to accommodate touring teams.
Murali emerged physically unscathed from the attacks, but said he feared for the life of team-mates as the team bus was sprayed with bullets. "There were gun shots going on and the bullets were passing us," he said. "I saw [Tharanga] Paranavitana was bleeding in the chest. I thought he was gone, actually. Thilan Samaraweera was bleeding, Kumar Sangakkara was bleeding from the shoulder. There was blood everywhere. It was frightening."
Murali would not confirm whether he would play for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. "I don't know, we have to speak to them, see how the security is, make sure everything is right ... not only IPL, England, anywhere. I never in my dreams thought we would be attacked."