Adil Najam
In this still-developing story, unknown gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus near Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore leaving several security officials dead and several Sri Lankan cricketers were rushed to the hospital.
The News is reporting at least 5 security officials dead while The Times reports that as many as 8 Sri Lankan crickets might have been injured. However, latest reports point out that the injuries to the players are minor, although the shock is deep.
According to an earlier report from the Associated Press:
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A dozen masked gunmen armed with rifles and rocket launchers attacked a vehicle carrying members of Sri Lanka’s national cricket team Tuesday, wounding at least two players and killing five police officers, officials said.
The attack in Lahore came at a time of unrest in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both of whom are trying to defeat insurgencies. It was unclear who was behind the assault, but it appeared to have been carefully coordinated. City police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said five policemen died in the shooting and that two players were wounded. A Pakistan Cricket Board security official had earlier said eight players were wounded.
“It was a terrorist attack and the terrorists used rocket launchers, hand grenades and other weapons,” Rehman said, adding that the police were hunting down the attackers who managed to flee. “Our police sacrificed their lives to protect the Sri Lankan team.”
He said one wounded player was hit in the leg while the other received a bullet in the chest.
Sri Lankan team manager Brendon Kruppu said the team’s batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, was among those injured near Gaddafi Stadium ahead of a game. Rehman said 12 masked gunmen participated in the attack. Footage from the scene Tuesday showed the team’s white van with its front window shattered as security officials tried to gain control of the scene in an intersection.
Security concerns have plagued Pakistan for years and some foreign sports teams have refused to play here.Most of the violence in Pakistan occurs in its northwest regions bordering Afghanistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida militants have established strongholds. Lahore has not been immune from militant violence however, and at least one attack in recent months in the northwest has occurred next to a sports stadium. Sri Lanka appeared on the brink of crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels after more than a quarter century of civil war.
In recent months, government forces have pushed the guerrillas out of much of the de facto state they controlled in the north of the Indian Ocean island nation and trapped them in a small patch of land along the coast. The rebels, who are fighting for an independent state for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, are listed as a terror group by the U.S. and EU and are routinely blamed for suicide bombings and other attacks targeting civilians.
The rebels rarely launch attacks outside Sri Lanka, though their most prominent attack — the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by a female suicide bomber — took place at an election rally in India in 1991.
As reader Eidee Man wrote in his comment elsewhere on thsi blog (in alerting us to this news): “Everything is officially going to hell.”
Terrorist Attack on Sri Lankan Cricket Team: Are Governor Punjab Transfers of High Police Officials and Administrative authorities caused this situation to be happening?
http://tinyurl.com/b8ygak
In a country where cricket is the most popular activity for masses, most people’s sentiments would be affected by such a cowardly attack on a guest team.
Who would benefit from planning such an attack? Apparently not a suicide attack. Seemed very well planned yet the attackers were successful in getting away and left behind ‘evidence’.
Fight to martyrdom was obviously not on the minds of these attackers. Also, killing at least some members of the squad was very much possible if these attackers were determined to fight to death. That did not happen.
Obviously, successful escape was an extremely important part of their mission.
What are the most obvious results of this attack:
1. A wave of public sentiment against the perpetrators. Based on recent events, the perpetrators should be: LeT or Swat Taliban clan, Baitullah Mehsood clan, or AlQaida.
2. Severe erosion of remaining public support for Jihadi groups.
3. Continuation of major hits to Pakistan economy.
4. If the perpetrators are indeed one of the Jihadi groups, this event is another message to the government that the fight against them by Pak forces can be brought into major cities. This event might be a reaction to some new achievements or operations by Pak or US forces in northern areas.
Some views from India:
Most of Indians are shocked because cricketers were targeted. But at same time many comment that this was bound to happen. Whole world can see how violent Pakistan has become in recent times and how Islamic militants who it has nurtured over the years on one pretext or the other (Afghanistan to Kashmir) have not gone rogue. Just few weeks back a province was given on platter to Taliban by Govt of Pakistan. Is that just a beginning !! Some views here:
According to cricket historian Ramchandra Guha.”The world of cricket has lost innocence today”
Today’s event is very puzzling. One can think of LTTE and Taliban behind the attack, but again these are cricketers. May be, Taliban is interested in general instability. But why Sri Lankans? The Sri Lankans stepped into Indian shoes when the Indian team refused to tour Pakistan. It was a non-political and gentlemanly act of the Sri Lankan side to come forward to play in Pakistan.
The attack on Sri Lankan cricketers defies rationale and even irrational logic. Pakistan is victim of sectarian and other kinds of violence since long. One has seen Shia-Sunni riots, Taliban versus military conflict and Balochs versus foreigners. We have heard about Americans being kidnapped, but this attack defies logic, completely. This attack is absolutely frightening.
Asad Khan Sahib,
I think you misunderstood my intention in my response, for which I apologize. I was only commenting on your point that you did not understand the motive if Taliban were involved.
What I was trying to say was that there are people in Pakistan (not you!) who believe that this was an act which furthers the cause of Islam. And I was pointing to Paanawala sahib’s comment as evidence. So we cannot rule out the possibility that this was done by people in Pakistan.
I hope this clears it up. Accusing you of supporting this act was not at all what I wanted to do.
“Firstly, after the Mumbai attacks India did blame Pakistan without any hesitation moments after. I am not saying Pakistan had nothing to do with it, I am not saying Pakistan land wasn