Attack on Srilankan cricket team in Lahore

[Bull]

From the videos emerging it wasnt an all out attack where tried to break the cordon, rather attack and leave. But then why were they carrying such heavy baggage? Another target?

 

[Rafael]

Update:
Wasim Akram said that Pakistan hosting the World Cup in 2011 was now a “distant dream”


"I don't want to talk about cricket alone. The attacks are unwarranted and have put Pakistan to shame. Please pray for us," Akram told ESPNStar. "I don't know who has done this but any attack on our guests is simply uncalled for.



"We should stand united under the circumstances and the world should understand that terrorism is now a universal concern. I can see a similar hand working in Mumbai and India must now know that Pakistan are equally at the receiving end.”



"How do you expect a foreign team to come to Pakistan now? We took pride in hosting our guests. This image has taken a beating. It's sad for Pakistan.”

 

[Awesome]

Update:
Wasim Akram said that Pakistan hosting the World Cup in 2011 was now a “distant dream”


"I don't want to talk about cricket alone. The attacks are unwarranted and have put Pakistan to shame. Please pray for us," Akram told ESPNStar. "I don't know who has done this but any attack on our guests is simply uncalled for.



"We should stand united under the circumstances and the world should understand that terrorism is now a universal concern. I can see a similar hand working in Mumbai and India must now know that Pakistan are equally at the receiving end.”



"How do you expect a foreign team to come to Pakistan now? We took pride in hosting our guests. This image has taken a beating. It's sad for Pakistan.”

That isn't the best statement out of Akram. Let the ICC change its mind about the WC, we should learn, try hard and patch up our problems. We should always aim for the top.

 

[Sgt Automatic]

Stop comparing two incidents, that's all I am saying.

You are correct there is no point comparing the two incidents on this thread. I just thought that it was very ignorant to "take away the credit from the police for their professionalism" and decided to present a point that you shouldn't bash ones countrys performance while yours did even poorly. Anyhow we will leave that here.

Now back on the topic, does anyone know how many different directions they attacked from, and how did they coordinate their attacks?

 

[SurvivoR]

Four suspects arrested in connection with Lahore attack, ammunition recovered -SL team called back to home
Tue, 2009-03-03 16:08
By Farzana Shah - from Pakistan

Lahore , 03 March, (Asiantribune.com): About four suspected persons have been arrested from Model Town area of Lahore, capital of Punjab Province of Pakistan in connection with attack on Sri Lankan team killing 7 persons.

A red color centro car No LRM-7030 has been seized which was said to be snatched by the terrorists for fleeing the area.Scene of Sri Lankan Cricketers being attacked
It is clear contradiction of earlier statement by Chief City Police Officer Lahore Habibur Rehman, stating terrorists ran towards Fardous Market. Fardous Market and Model Town are on opposite sides.

The firing and attack came from posh Liberty area which has Liberety Market on one side, Opposite to that is Cricket Stadium and on the other side is Kalma Chowk and Jail Road.

Earlier about seven persons including 5 security personnel had been killed while eight people including five Sri Lankan cricketers have been injured when three gunmen opened fired on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket team to Gaddafi Stadium Tuesday.

Three gunmen armed with sophisticated weapons attacked the bus killing seven people; five among them are elite police squad guarding the cricket teams. The killed include Faisal Zafar, Tepu Farid, Mudasir, Tanveer, Zafar and Nadeem.

Five cricketers, including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardana, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga received minor injuries. The Sri Lankan cricketers are out of danger whereas Pakistani umpire Ali Raza is being operated for bullet injury.

The attackers first used a rocket launcher attack aimed at the bus but apparently it seems an attempt to create panic as it missed and hit shop after which the terrorists resorted to indiscriminate firing on the bus. The attacker are said to has come in a white Corolla car bearing Karachi registration number. The elite police force responded quickly which have saved many lives.

Sports producer Gavin Scovell said security teams responded quickly. "The guards were brilliant. They weren't panicking. They were very calm," Scovell said. "It must have been a terrifying experience, but they handled it well."

CCOP Lahore told the media that attackers were sophisticatedly armed with LPGs, G-3s and AK-47s, grenades and other equipment.

The timing of the attack is very crucial due to political tension between the two biggest political parties of Pakistan – the ruling Pakistan People’s Part of late Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.

After disqualification of Nawaz and his brother Shahbaz Sharif who was chief minister of biggest province of Pakistan, the Zardari government had dissolved Punjab provincial government and Governor Rule had been implemented for two months.

Almost entire tire of Punjab police department was reshuffled by the central government overnight.

Some commentators are also pointing fingers at ill-timed postings and transfers which they say might have also created some confusion regarding security arrangements.

However the government officials say security was all satisfactory and provided to utmost.
The president of Awami Muslim Shiekh Rashid while speaking to media said influence factor must not be ruled out, adding that some elements took advantage of political situation of Pakistan aimed at maligning the country.

He also said that it was on record that UK and US had already warned their citizens from traveling to Lahore and some other cities of Punjab on grounds of security concerns.

He said thorough investigation should be carried out before any final speculation however the influence factors should also be taken into consideration.

It is widely believed that some elements want to add fuel to fire regarding declaring Pakistan as failed state and eyeing for its nuclear disarmament on the pretext in the long. The elements according to analysts are having full cooperation from local anti-Pakistan groups who are involved in many suicide and bomb attacks in Pakistan.

Over an all the attack is suicidal for sports in Pakistan specially cricket which has already suffered badly due to worsening security in the country.

- Asian Tribune -

Four suspects arrested in connection with Lahore attack, ammunition recovered -SL team called back to home | Asian Tribune

 

[EagleEyes]

This is a sad day. I can't believe that this has happened. The Sri Lankan team are truly heroes and the policemen who fought to defend them. May Allah Bless them.

Sangakara and Jawardene has showed such a great character.

 

[Rafael]

Update: Waqar Younis on Geo Tv: "We pride ourselves on being a loving sporting nation but if these kinds of things happen, well it’s really sad. This is not good for our society or for our cricket. We wanted foreign teams to come and play but now it looks remote. Hopes of hosting World Cup is also receding. We have to agree with whatever ICC decides. People will refuse to travel to our part of the world

 

[sapumal]

this culprits who try to brake the friendship between sri lanka & Pakistan , wanted to kill our all Cricket team players


Pakistan is being destroyed by few terrorists


Wake up

DO NOT HAVE PEACE NEGOTIATION WITH THEM.TALK TO THEM AS THEY CAN UNDERSTAND


Although our players made a narrow scape, Terrorists have done a big damage for international image of Pakistan.


lONG LIVE PAKISTAN SRI LANKA FRIENDSHIP

 

[Rafael]

Update:
The Australian Cricketers’ Association said the attack on the Sri Lankan team would have a “lasting impact” on the game in Pakistan.

"It is one of those things, you know the risk is pretty large in that part of the world in Pakistan, but there has always been a belief that sports people will not be targeted and I am just stunned," ACA’s chief Paul Marsh told AFP. "It is very sad that it has come to this for all the cricketers and Pakistan cricket in particular. This is not their doing but I am sure the fallout from this is going to have a lasting impact on Pakistan cricket and the future of the game in Pakistan."

 

[EagleEyes]

Dont give a crap about cricket anymore. Find out who is responsible, and finish them.

 

[rfarooqui]

Its a real shame for Pakistan and Pakistani peoples GOD Help Us and get through this really difficult situation.

As a pakistani i blame on Mr. Lugari and Nawaz Sharif, since they been incharge of pakistan all they doing fighting for seat once again.

I am a big fan of Mr. Musharaf because after long time in Pakistan history i have seen a very Honest man but unfortunatily politicians won again.

I only apeal to pakistani people wakeup and open your eyes think who is best for pakistan don't just vote your party vote for Pakistan.

GODBLESS US

 

[arslan_treen]

Thanks mate we realy Appreciate your patience and message , and trust me Pakistan will avenge this Brutal Attack on our Dear Friend and Guest and In a proper way .

 

[sapumal]

this culprits who try to brake the friendship between sri lanka & Pakistan , wanted to kill our all Cricket team players


Pakistan is being destroyed by few terrorists


Wake up

DO NOT HAVE PEACE NEGOTIATION WITH THEM.TALK TO THEM AS THEY CAN UNDERSTAND


Although our players made a narrow scape, Terrorists have done a big damage for international image of Pakistan.


lONG LIVE PAKISTAN SRI LANKA FRIENDSHIP

 

[Super Falcon]

George Binoy: Terror struck at the heart of cricket when masked gunmen attacked the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Five cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, and his deputy Kumar Sangakkara, received minor injuries. The attack also left six security men and two civilians dead. Duleep Mendis, the Sri Lanka Cricket chief, said that they were "getting the team back [to Sri Lanka] today".


6:47 George Binoy: Sri Lankan team to be evacuated


Ijaz Butt, the PCB chief, has said the Test has been called off. Salman Tasheer, the Punjab governor, said a helicopter will soon evacuate the Sri Lankan players from Gaddafi stadium and take them to a nearby airbase from where the team will fly back to Sri Lanka.

The reserve umpire Ahsan Raza was also injured in the attack. Nadeem Ghauri, the TV umpire, who was traveling in a bus behind the Sri Lanka team bus said the firing continued for some time. He said the bus driver was critically injured in the attack.

Umpire Steve Davis, who was on the team bus, called the terrorist attack “terrible”. “I’m lost for words,” he said.


6:48 George Binoy: Team to take first available flight home

Sri Lanka's foreign secretary Palitha Cohona has confirmed that the team will return today. He said they hoped to take the first available flight. He said that six players were hurt and that the players were being evacuated from the stadium and taken to a safe play. He's praising the Pakistan authorities for their cooperation and is appalled that a sporting team has been targeted in this manner.

6:49 George Binoy: Samaraweera and Paranavitana most seriously hurt

Our sources tell us Samaraweera and Paravitarana were the ones most seriously injured and have been taken to hospital. they had shrapnel wounds in the chest and hamstring which have been dressed and they are doing fine.

6:50 George Binoy: BCCI, CA condemn attacks


The BCCI issued a release expressing its "sorrow and anguish over the dastardly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore. We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured cricketers, and sympathize with their families and compatriots.

Cricket Australia chief executive officer James Sutherland said Australian cricket was shocked to hear the news. "Australian cricket has many friends in Sri Lanka and in Pakistan and we sincerely hope they are all safe after this awful incident,” he said. “Early reports are unclear but we are deeply saddened to hear reports that security officials in Pakistan have been killed in this attack."

This is what the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse had to say. "I condemn this cowardly terrorist attack targeting the Sri Lankan cricket team," Rajapakse told AFP. "The Sri Lankan players had gone to Pakistan as ambassadors of goodwill."


6:50 George Binoy: Indians in NZ shocked


NDTV are reporting that there's shock among the players in the Indian dressing room in New Zealand ...

India were scheduled to tour Pakistan but the trip was cancelled after the terror attacks in Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorists. Sri Lanka stepped in to fill the gap for Pakistan. Pakistan are scheduled to host the Champions Trophy later this year ...


6:50 George Binoy: How the attack happened


The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed.

"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said, "They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws." Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim their kalashnikovs then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan's private channel Geo, AFP reported. Crystals of broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty Chowk (roundabout) in Lahore. Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous security officers guarded the site.


6:51 George Binoy: Concerns have come home to roost - Dickason

Reg Dickason, the security expert hired by England and Australia, said " A lot of concerns we raised during the Champions Trophy have unfortunately come home to roost. The notion of sporting teams being a protected species was held by many, but it was not a view that we shared, unfortunately."
6:52 George Binoy: Two car bombs defused


Pakistan police’s disposal unit inspector Abdul Ghafoor said that two car bombs had been defused, one at Liberty Square and the other at Firdus Park.

"We have defused a bomb in a white Hyundai and after some time we got information about a suspect car in the Firdus car park. We also defused the bomb there," he told AFP. Local sector warden Malik Fayyaz told AFP that grenades, three kilograms of explosives, a pistol and a one-metre detonating cable had been recovered.


6:52 George Binoy: Terrible and very sad - Miandad

"It has never happened before in Pakistan, sports persons haven’t been targeted," Javed Miandad told GEO TV. "It’s terrible and really sad. It looks like a well-thought and planned assault. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have always helped each other. They have never said no to tour Pakistan and have always helped us in troubled situations. The foreign teams were already not coming and this [incident] is going to affect Pakistan cricket in the future. This is not to say that cricket will stop. The world will have to stay united and fight terrorism. I hope they just don’t say they won’t tour Pakistan. If we do that we will only support the terrorists’ cause."

6:58 George Binoy: ICC statement on the Lahore attack


“We note with dismay and regret the events of this morning in Lahore and we condemn this attack without reservation," said Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive."



“It is a source of great sadness that there have been a number of fatalities in this attack and it is also very upsetting for the wider cricket family that some of the Sri Lanka players and one match official have been injured in this attack. At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the injured people and also the families of those who have died."



“I have confirmed with both Member Boards that the remainder of the tour has been cancelled and we are working hard to get our match officials out of the area as safely and as quickly as possible. I know, also, that the Pakistan Cricket Board is working with Sri Lanka Cricket to make sure the players are flown home at the earliest opportunity.”

7:00 Update: Inzamam to GEO TV


Inzamam-ul-Haq to GEO TV, “This is the first time that a cricket team has been seriously targeted. This is the most serious incident that has ever happened. Pakistan’s image will be hit and only time will tell how much damage has been done to Pakistan cricket. The World Cup too might be affected. Preparations for the world cup will start much before 2011 and no country would want to come now to Pakistan. As I said, we will know the extent of damage to our cricket in some time. So I am worried where Pakistan will get a chance to play, not only in Pakistan but outside as well. This is all so sad.”

 

[duhastmish]

Now i think who ever was questioning does Pakistan need Mr. Musharraf back. Have got at least some answer to their million $ question.