Sri Lanka Cricket Team Attacked, serious security lapses leaves Pakistan cricket future in dark

By: Farooq Tariq

The attack on Sri Lankan cricket team at Liberty Chouck Lahore on March 3  left eight policemen killed and six Sri Lankan cricket players injured in a direct firing lasting 25 minutes.

Watching different television channels and looking at the footage of the attack, it is clear that religious fundamentalists have stuck. They were four of them with hand grenades, rocket launchers, modern rifles and other sophisticated weapons. They had small beards.

The Sri Lankan cricketers, talking to journalists, said that they were aware of the risks when they came to Pakistan. The team was in Lahore for a five-day test match and had already played magnificently for two days at the Gaddafi Stadium.

They were on their way from the hotel to the stadium for the third day when the gunmen fired at their vehicle as they neared the Stadium.  According to the reports, the firing began from three directions as the van slowed down near a roundabout. The van driver, talking to journalists afterwards, said that one of them flung a hand grenade which did not damage the van. The driver said that the cricketers did not panic but lay down in the van as he speeded up to escape the gunfire, managing to get the bullet-riddled van with the cricketers to the Stadium.

Praying for the quick recovery of the injured cricketers, people all over the country have strongly condemned the incident which many believe is an attempt to further discredit and isolate Pakistan and especially cricket.

The religious fanatics have many time stuck against sports like football and cricket, terming these as evil sports smuggled from the West. "It is promoting Western cultural norms, it must not be allowed" was the justifications of Taliban to ban these sports when they were in power from 1996 to 2001.

The agenda of these 'jehadi' forces is clearly not just to enforce what they consider to be an Islamic system, but to overrun and destabilise the state itself. Pakistanis have suffered the most under  this agenda over the past years. This country, which remained under military rule for more than half its 60 years of existence, has paid a heavy price for the policies of military rulers that civilian governments have been unable to change. These policies include  cultivating 'Islamic warriors' to fight against the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan during the 1980s, supporting the Taliban in order to create 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan (citing the threat of a hostile India on the eastern border), and using some of these elements  to bleed India in the disputed region of Kashmir.

"They were our guests, they came to Pakistan when most people were not willing to come," said one man in Peshawar. "It is a blot on humanity," said another. "We hang our heads in shame."

"As it is few foreigners come to Pakistan," said one woman sadly. "Now no one will come."

Another woman said that Pakistan had been pushed back ten years by  this incident. "We are a friendly and cricket-loving nation," said another passer-by. "Now no cricket team will want to play here."

This will be a big blow to Pakistan's aspirations to hosting the next World Cup.

The government is claiming that they were able to save the Sri Lankan team but I was shocked to hear top Lahore police officers saying that there was no security lapse. In fact it could have been avoided with proper security measures.

One must see the incident within the context of the political and bureaucratic changes that took place over the last week. Lahore's top police officers were transferred and new people were brought in, mainly to suppress the proposed long march of the lawyers, due to begin 12 March. Additionally, there has been resistance by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz supporters to the toppling of the provincial government in Punjab.

The top Lahore police officer, a loyalist of the Peoples's Party Pakistan (PPP), was just transferred to Lahore from Quetta, Baluchistan. His priority was to target the lawyers other political activists demanding an end to dictatorial measures.

 A day before the incident, in a special meeting, the Punjab governor, police officers and top bureaucrats discussed how to stop the proposed lawyers' march. According to media reports about this meeting, they decided on mass arrests. In those same newspapers there was no hint of any discussion about security for the Sri Lanka team. They were too busy planning to stop opposition demonstrations and transferring their loyalists to key posts. Since the Supreme Court decision against Sharif brothers and imposition of rule by the governor a week ago the media has been full of such reports.

I know the place where the attack occurred very well. From the footage, it seems that the terrorists were running freely and firing. The presence of a few policemen on the Liberty roundabout would have noticed the presence of these terrorists. The security measures for the team were routine: A police van in front of the team's bus, another in back and an ambulance. That was it. Even the Punjab governor would have had more security. In that case the whole area is cordoned off.

One private channel journalist who watched the firing reported that the terrorists first attacked the police in the front. They even approached the injured police officer and showered him with more bullets.

According to the journalist, the team was saved by the quick action of the bus driver, not by the police. Had the driver proceeded to cricket stadium, the terrorists would have inflicted more damage. Instead he went in another direction, minimizing the danger.

Our condolences to the families of those killed and our sympathies with the Sri Lanka cricket team.

It seems clear that a serious security lapse occurred. The police were too busy with other things. The present Punjab government must accept the responsibility of the security lapse.

The horrific attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March

3 has shocked and saddened people here, already reeling from the suicide and other attacks which have become the norm.

Ultimately, those who suffer the most after such incidents are ordinary people Pakistan, regardless of religion.