Security 'left us to be sitting ducks' claims Broad

[Torpedo]

The policemen showed an ultimate example of bravery.

But, it is obvious that there are traitors at the higher level. Then there is a possibility that some of the police present at the scene knew about it. No one is talking about the number of total policemen present there.

Please note the following -

In Mumbai, a whole group of terrorists was killed and Ajmal Kasab was arrested within few minutes of attack. There was nothing special arrangement that day and the system could do this with its ordinary arrangements.

In Lahore, the convoy was having best level of security. Unlike Mumbai, the police force present was concentrated. It was elite force. The weapons were advanced. But still, NOT A SINGLE terrorist took damage in any form.

This does not mean that Pakistani police are not capable, but this certainly means that there are some serious flaws at higher level.

 

[Jihad]

The policemen showed an ultimate example of bravery.

But, it is obvious that there are traitors at the higher level. Then there is a possibility that some of the police present at the scene knew about it. No one is talking about the number of total policemen present there.

Please note the following -

In Mumbai, a whole group of terrorists was killed and Ajmal Kasab was arrested within few minutes of attack. There was nothing special arrangement that day and the system could do this with its ordinary arrangements.

In Lahore, the convoy was having best level of security. Unlike Mumbai, the police force present was concentrated. It was elite force. The weapons were advanced. But still, NOT A SINGLE terrorist took damage in any form.

This does not mean that Pakistani police are not capable, but this certainly means that there are some serious flaws at higher level.

I personally think Pakistan should not invite anyone to our country and make sure we solve our mess first, however, we should continue to attract investors to bolster our economy.
Anyways, it's time for a major cleanup in our own nation, because it seems that the carpet has been removed, and the cockroaches revealed and scrambling all over the place whether it be a foreign hand, Al-Qaeda, a bunch of extremist students, or uneducated people who bring no good for Pakistan, they all must be stepped on and dealt with.
Pakistan seriously needs to tackle these problems the coming years and try not to come in bad light within the international media, because the international media seems so easy on portraying Pakistan as if Satan has unleashed hell in it, which is completely not true.
We need time and support, we need to clean up our own mess because if we don't, future generations will always be bothered with this pesticide that is harming our country in general.

 

[SSGPA1]

I hope one day CB and others would realize that Pakistani police did its best to protect their lives.

 

[godsavetheworld]

I hope one day CB and others would realize that Pakistani police did its best to protect their lives.

They tried. But Im sure this wasnt their best peice of work. "Presidential Security" doesnt accout for area not being coordoned off, continued assault on the players with Kalashnikov's, rocket launchers, and hand grenades and no indefinetly doesnot include their abandonment.

Pakistan has some serious food for thought. I even saw a video sent to CNN by Geo TV, which showed that attackers fled despite a police van approaching them, and the police vehicle made no attemp to even notice them, leave alone confronting.

 

[third eye]

Without intending to sound cynical I feel things do not fit.

10-12 men with AK's firing for 10-15 mins are enough to rip apart any target . There are very few bullet marks to show for their effort.

The Grenade , RPG.. every thing misses. They ' missed the bus" in a manner of speaking.

Post attack, the attackers do not seem to be in a hurry or under pressure to flee the scene.

Cops vanish at the ' right time' with a few ' colateral' casualties..( apologies for using the term).

Even road side hoodlums who get killed in ' encounters' by police do better than this.

 

[Patriot]

I personally think it's internal job.How the hell they can so easily escape?Some Politicians like NS might be involved to destabilize AZ government.

 

[RescueRanger]

They tried. But Im sure this wasnt their best peice of work. "Presidential Security" doesnt accout for area not being coordoned off, continued assault on the players with Kalashnikov's, rocket launchers, and hand grenades and no indefinetly doesnot include their abandonment.

Pakistan has some serious food for thought. I even saw a video sent to CNN by Geo TV, which showed that attackers fled despite a police van approaching them, and the police vehicle made no attemp to even notice them, leave alone confronting.

The security provided to the Sri Lankan's was not at presidentail level, Presidential or Red Light Protocol invloves using a Route Protection Force, a Venue Protection Force, a Survailance Detection Team, Three Pilots (Motorcycle Outriders), Upto 18 Squad Cars, 1 Critical Care Ambulance, a EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Team 1 Fire Truck and a QRF(Quick Reaction Force) on stand-by and a helicopter on standby for emergency evacuation.

On a Red Light route, the route is usually swept by EOD Tech's by manual, electronic and K9' units. Once the all clear is issued (special branch will assign plain clothes officers on survailance detection duties) etc.... This is quite vauge, and i want to keep it that way, dont want to give away too much...


It is called red light because when the route is mobile, all civillian and non essential traffic is stopped by Traffic Police (hence RED LIGHT).
This video show's the Red Light Protocol for The PM Gillani, by looking at this video you can start you understand the level of security at presidential level.

So firstly, Chris Broad was not promised Presidential security, the SRILANKAN's were promised enhanced security by order of the Ministry of Interior and Home Ministry (but NOT Presidential Security, and definietly not for MR. Chris Broad - he is a no body as Red Light Security is provided only to visiting heads of state and dignitaries (so Sri Lankan Players could recieve a red light protocol, but Mr. Broad (NO).

He should thank his lucky stars he is alive and offer condolence to the families of the brave offciers who sacrificed themselves to protect them.

BTW i read someone say "Elite Force and still no terrorists dead", hey listen... Liberty Round About or "Gol Chakar" is massive when you have opposing force converging on you from all sides like a swarm, your arcs of fire get hazy, no matter how well you are trained.

I aggree however we need to offer the best possible security to our guests, and sadly the security provided to Sri Lankan's was not good enough (even a lowly minister gets better security).

We will learn from this. I am sure!

 

[XYON]

Security of the Entourage was indeed lax that was the reason the terrorists found the chink in the armor and attacked. However, its ungrateful people like Chris Broad who instead of praising those who laid out their lives to save his white skin, he chooses to value his pathetic existence more. I think that the shock of the attack has done irrevocable damage to this umpire's brain! What a moronic Idiot!

 

[XYON]

Without intending to sound cynical I feel things do not fit.

10-12 men with AK's firing for 10-15 mins are enough to rip apart any target . There are very few bullet marks to show for their effort.

The Grenade , RPG.. every thing misses. They ' missed the bus" in a manner of speaking.

Post attack, the attackers do not seem to be in a hurry or under pressure to flee the scene.

Cops vanish at the ' right time' with a few ' colateral' casualties..( apologies for using the term).

Even road side hoodlums who get killed in ' encounters' by police do better than this.

I have to agree. Based on some new information surfacing, chances may be that someone may have tipped the route manager to ensure players come through this route from the hotel. So fingers are now turning towards likely involvement of the banned extremists groups hurting at the seams in Pakistan. Again, let the investigation take its course before we could be definitive on the motive and the culprits.

 

[Contrarian]

The security provided to the Sri Lankan's was not at presidentail level, Presidential or Red Light Protocol invloves using a Route Protection Force, a Venue Protection Force, a Survailance Detection Team, Three Pilots (Motorcycle Outriders), Upto 18 Squad Cars, 1 Critical Care Ambulance, a EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Team 1 Fire Truck and a QRF(Quick Reaction Force) on stand-by and a helicopter on standby for emergency evacuation.

On a Red Light route, the route is usually swept by EOD Tech's by manual, electronic and K9' units. Once the all clear is issued (special branch will assign plain clothes officers on survailance detection duties) etc.... This is quite vauge, and i want to keep it that way, dont want to give away too much...

Damn! Thats some security!

 

[Bull]

Fresh questions raised over Pakistan's security measures PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY
The World Today - Thursday, 5 March , 2009 12:18:00
Reporter: Emily Bourke
ELEANOR HALL: As allegations surface that Pakistan's police received advanced warning of a terrorist incident this week, survivors of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team want to know why they were left so exposed.

One of those caught in the strike on the cricket convoy says that during the ordeal in Lahore he felt like a 'sitting duck'. Almost 48 hours after the brazen attack by masked gunmen, more eyewitness accounts are emerging, along with more anger and more questions.

Emily Bourke has our report.

EMILY BOURKE: Two days after the commando-style assault in Lahore, Pakistani security forces are coming under intense criticism.

It's been reported that a letter dated the 22nd of January was sent to a local Punjabi police chief with details of a planned attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team either at their hotel or somewhere between the hotel and sports stadium.

Political instability and recent changes to officials and the ranks of senior police have been blamed for the lack of preventative action. Islamabad has dismissed accusations of any negligence.

But after being promised 'presidential-style' security, the International Cricket Council's match referee Chris Broad is furious.

CHRIS BROAD: After the incident and we were able to see television pictures, you can quite clearly see the white van that we were in next to the ambulance, the white ambulance, in the middle of this roundabout with terrorists shooting past our van, sometimes into our van, and not a sign of a policeman anywhere. They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks.

EMILY BOURKE: Also in his convoy Australian umpire Simon Taufel who arrived at Sydney airport this morning with questions of his own.

SIMON TAUFEL: You tell me why no one was caught. You tell me why supposedly 25 armed commandos were in our convoy and when the team bus got going again we were left on our own.

Obviously they'll investigate those issues. What I can tell you this morning is that we were isolated, we were left alone, we were unaccounted for. We were not given the same security and the same attention as the playing staff were.

EMILY BOURKE: The driver for the officials and umpires was shot dead and their eventual escape from the scene turned into high farce. A police officer scrambled into their minibus but he didn't know how to drive and it took several more minutes amid the gunfire before another person climbed into the driver's cabin and drove their van away.

Simon Taufel again:

SIMON TAUFEL: We hit a checkpoint and the thoughts that went through my mind were such that we were probably going to be targeted as possible terrorists ourselves. We were actually coming after the van. We're coming to the ground. We're racing through the streets and we might actually attract more gunfire.

Thankfully that didn't happen but we got to the ground and they wouldn't let us in the ground. They stopped us outside the gate. The van door opened. We started to get out of the van. They opened up the front gates to the ground. We all just ran out of the van and into the pavilion. And we walked into the umpires' room, or ran to the umpires' room. Basically gave each other a bit of a hug, sort of didn't want to leave the room for a good hour or so.

EMILY BOURKE: His colleague, and fellow Australian, umpire Steve Davis arrived in Melbourne this morning similarly shocked at the security response.

STEVE DAVIS: There's a bit of anger there that, you know, we were let down. We had all sorts of assurances before. And I'm sure the team feels that way too. They had some assurances. And despite all that, this was still able to happen and we were put in a very vulnerable position and felt very helpless. So there's a mixture of anger and what if, what could have been.

EMILY BOURKE: There have also been questions about whether the gunmen had inside information about the security arrangements.

Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan (*see editor's note) told commercial radio in Adelaide about his suspicions.

MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN: But somehow in this incident there was not many people sometimes the police were in the bus, also two people are staying at the gun. Because if someone there with a gun we have the chance of defending ourselves...

RADIO PRESENTER: So the police didn't have guns?

MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN: No police were in the bus, inside, this time when we went.

EMILY BOURKE: The umpires and the Sri Lankan team want to know why the Pakistani team changed its departure time that day.

MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN: What happened was we left at 8.30. So Yunus Khan has said they are going at 8.35, five minutes later. We saw the two escorts. We got one escort and they had one escort. Normally all of the buses go, about four, five escorts go. So they divided into two and maybe they would have well known information and everything.

EMILY BOURKE: That five-minute delay has also been playing on Simon Taufel's mind.

SIMON TAUFEL: We were told they wouldn't target the players, that they wouldn't target the sub-continent team. There are a lot of questions. I mean the first two days both team buses left at the same time. The third day the Pakistan team bus leaves five minutes after the Sri Lankan one. Why did that happen? I don't know the answer to that question.

Would they have attacked both buses at the same time? I don't know. You know, we can speculate as much as we like. I've just got to deal with the facts in front of me and the fact that, you know, I'm quite lucky to be here and see my kids and wife again and you know have an opportunity of still participating in the game of cricket.

ELEANOR HALL: That's Australian umpire Simon Taufel ending that report by Emily Bourke.

*Editor's note: Transcript amended on 05/03/09 to correct Muttiah Muralitharan's name.

The World Today - Fresh questions raised over Pakistan's security measures

 

[Bull]

Criticism grows of Pakistani security in cricket team attack


Last Updated: Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 10:52 AM ET Comments16Recommend8CBC News


Criticisms continued to mount Thursday over the security presence of Pakistani authorities in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that killed seven people.

This image released by Pakistan's Lahore police on Wednesday, March 4, 2009, shows sketches of four men suspected of involvement in Tuesday's attack in Lahore. (Lahore Police/Associated Press)An opposition leader said the government should shoulder some of the blame for the attack that happened Tuesday in the city of Lahore.

"The security system in Pakistan under this regime has collapsed because this government is too busy doing other things. They are too busy in their quest for power," Mushahid Hussain, an opposition leader told a televised media conference on Thursday.

"They should be held responsible," he said.

Lahore commissioner Khusro Pervez said the gunmen should have been battled by "backup police support which didn't arrive."

"The vehicles used for escorting the Sri Lankan convoy were not adequate," the Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying to a television news show owned by the same media company.

"There are certain security lapses, which are very vivid and very clear," he said.

About a dozen gunmen, working in pairs, opened fire on Tuesday on a van taking members of the Sri Lankan team to Gaddafi Stadium, where they were scheduled to play Pakistan in the third day of a test match, police said. Cricket test matches typically take five days to complete.

Six police officers and a civilian bus driver were killed and seven Sri Lankan cricket players were wounded.

Occupants report unusual gap between buses


Accounts by some of those travelling in the buses to the stadium seemed to suggest the attackers may have had some kind of intimate information about the bus itinerary prior to the attack.

Australian match umpire Simon Taufel told the Times of London he was in a bus filled with officials that travelled immediately behind the bus carrying Sri Lankan players.

He said that on the first two days of the test match, the Pakistani and Sri Lankan teams travelled to the stadium together. But, Taufel said, on the day of the attack the Pakistani team left five minutes after the Sri Lankan convoy — and he questioned why that happened.

Muttiah Muralitharan, a Sri Lankan player, confirmed Taufel's account that the Pakistani bus left later.

"We left at 8:30 a.m., and Younis Khan [with the Pakistan team bus] at 8:35 a.m.," he told the Australian radio station FIVEaa. "We divided into two, maybe they knew the information for the right time."

British match referee Chris Broad, told British reporters on Wednesday that security forces had left the vehicles carrying the players "like sitting ducks."

"We were promised high level security and in our hour of need, that security vanished," he told reporters in Britain. He accused the security forces of leaving the scene during the attack.

The chairman of Pakistan's cricket board, Ijaz Butt, dismissed as "totally fabricated" Broad's claims that police and security forces abandoned the convoy.

Men behind attack identified: provincial governor

Pakistani authorities also released sketches of four men suspected of involvement in the attacks. The images have been broadcast repeatedly on Pakistani radio and television.

One Pakistani official said authorities have identified the men behind the attack, although none are believed to be in custody. While he declined to provide any names, Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer says he will release details in the next few days.

Taseer also told reporters Thursday that investigators have found a large amount of weapons and made several arrests.

A spokesman for the police in Punjab province told the Daily Telegraph newspaper Wednesday night that 30 people had been questioned in connection to the attack. He said at the time that police had not made any breakthroughs in the case.

A video from a surveillance camera in the area of the attack was broadcast on local television on Wednesday. The video shows some of the alleged attackers walking casually down a deserted side street before getting on motorcycles and leaving the scene.

Islamic militants are widely suspected, but authorities have not explicitly said that.

The assault bore similarities to November's three-day terrorist rampage in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai. The Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba has been blamed for that attack, in which 10 gunmen targeted hotels, a Jewish centre and other sites, killing 164 people.

Pakistani authorities have since cracked down on the group, which is based in eastern Pakistan.

Criticism grows of Pakistani security in cricket team attack

 

[Bull]

Taufel, Murali hint at conspiracy behind Lahore terror attack (Lead, Changing dateline)

London, March 5 (IANS) Australian umpire Simon Taufel and Sri Lankan spinner Murali Muralitharan say there may have been a conspiracy behind Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Both have spoken about an inexplicable change made to the departure timing of the Pakistani team’s bus that had the effect of sparing the host nation’s team from the terrorists’ bullets.

Taufel told The Times that while the two teams had travelled to the stadium together on the previous two days, on the day of the attack the bus carrying the Pakistan team left five minutes later.

“One thing I have been impressed about in Pakistan is that logistically they are usually very well organised. They normally depart on time,” he said in comments quoted Thursday.

“We knew we were departing at 8.30 a.m on the third morning. As to why the Pakistani team left at a different time, I don’t know.”

Muralitheran suggested the terrorists may have had inside information.

“Somehow in this incident there were no police with guns on the bus - if someone was there with a gun we would have had a chance of defending ourselves,” Muralitharan told Radio5aa in Adelaide, Australia.

“Normally all the buses go and we have four or five escorts. We left at 8.30 a.m and Younus Khan (with the Pakistan team bus) at 8.35 a.m. We divided into two - maybe they knew the information for the right time,” the Sri Lankan cricketer added.

Taufel told The Times there were three vans and four police motorcyles in their convoy but after the attacks they were on their own: “There were no other police vehicles, or any other police defending us. There was no one protecting us during the firing.”

“We were isolated, left alone, unaccounted for. We were not given the same security as the playing staff. We were defenceless, helpless, left on our own. I am angry that we were isolated, that we didn’t get the same level of security. I am angry.

“You tell me why supposedly 20 armed commandos were in our convoy and when the team bus got going again, we were left on our own? I don’t have any answers to these questions,” Taufel added.

Mehar Mohammed Khalil, the driver of the Sri Lankan bus who was debriefed by Pakistani police Tuesday evening, denied that the Pakistani team had been delayed by five minutes, or that the security escort had been split between the two teams.

However, The Times said, Khalil’s version of events has now been contradicted by Muralitharan and three other passengers in the convoy.

Younis Khan, the Pakistani captain, told a news conference Tuesday: “Thank God we decided to leave our hotel five minutes after the Sri Lankans.”

Taufel, Murali hint at conspiracy behind Lahore terror attack (Lead, Changing dateline) | Sindh Today

 

[Bull]

I have posted news from different sources which all pointed to serious lapses, this is inspite specific inteligence inputs, specific as in as specific as it can get. Why? An error, no way. No way a country which is facing terror strikes everyday would ignore such inteligence reports of grave nature.

So all this point out to the fact that this was a PAKISTANI DRAMA.

 

[Stumper]

Security of the Entourage was indeed lax that was the reason the terrorists found the chink in the armor and attacked. However, its ungrateful people like Chris Broad who instead of praising those who laid out their lives to save his white skin, he chooses to value his pathetic existence more. I think that the shock of the attack has done irrevocable damage to this umpire's brain! What a moronic Idiot!

EPool : So anything that does not toe your line is a Ungratefull, White Skin, Pathetic Existence, and a moronic idiot. Can you kindly tell us where has he showed disrespect those killed. Just try to put yourself in his shoe. Sitting in a van with a dead driver with bullets flying around is not something you will forget in a day. Questions are still unanswered. Let authorities answer them. Broad is expressing anger at the authorities. And rightly so.