Terrorist attack in Pakistan on Sri Lankan cricketers

loosecannon

wow - this is sickening

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7920260.stm

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/pakvsl/content/current/story/393212.html

according to some reports 6 or 7 of the sri lankan cricket team may have been hurt and half a dozen policemen have been killed

i would imagine this is the end of any international cricket within pakistan for a long long time - i really hope all of the sri lankan's are ok

Xavi6

Yeah just this story on the breaking news. Absolutely crazy stuff, though I'm sure this kinda thing goes on all the time but was only brought to light this time due to the high profile nature of the victims.

DMC

Na, this is about the oxygen of publicity. It's an attack on foreigners, and not just on cricket. I hope they are all ok. When I woke and saw this, my heart sank.

But cricket in Pakistan will be the long term victim. None one will go there. Sri Lanka and Bangaldesh were their only hope.

The World Cup is gone. I can't see international cricket being played in Pakistan for another 5 years minimum. Former Pakistan players may talk about a year, but unless there is reform in Pakistan politics and the security situation can be guaranteed and secured, that is it.

Washout

My heart sank also when I heard the news.
4-5 of the Sri-Lankans have Shrapnel wounds and i hope they are all ok

ironically i was watching India V NZ and thought that what if it was supposed to have been the Indian team playing Pakistain now.

There would be 2 countries on the verge of War. if this had happned to a visiting Indian team.

simonrooneyzaga

absolutely shocking - its a miracle none of the sri lankan players, coaches or the umpires were killed. My heart goes out to the families of the murdered police men.

Whenever I heard of countries declining to go to pakistan due to security concerns, i always thought it was a bit OTT - But thank god so many teams refused to go to the champions trophy that was due to be held there in october. It could have been ten times worse than this.

dfx-

I couldn't believe what Stephen Fleming was saying last night just before Sehwag's wicket and flicked over to CNN.. :eek:

Pakistan to become the cricket Shamrock Rovers..nomadic..

Its So Easy

Well that's Pakistans staging of games for the 2011 world cup down the crapper.

Royale with Cheese

From a pure cricketing perspective, this is bad.

There's few enough test teams in the world as it is, we don't need Pakistan to disappear too.

DMC

Now that we know that cricketers are targets... is the IPL in the crapper too?

I note that the Indian govenment want the tournament suspended while elections are taking place, but from a security point of view, and of what happened in Mumbai before Christmas, is this in danger too?

DMC

Chris Broad's account of what happened in his minibus that was targeted yesterday.

I love the way the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt tries to deflect attention towards Chris Broad on this. Um while some policemen died, sadly, Chris Broad's van was being shot at, and the other police officers had scarpered!! Clearly not "presidential" enough!


Broad angry at security failures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7923654.stm

Chris Broad has angrily criticised security in Pakistan after witnessing Tuesday's terror attack in Lahore.

The former England batsman was match referee for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka third Test and was in a van with other officials when they came under fire.

Six policeman and a driver were killed and seven Sri Lanka players were hurt.

"I am extremely angry that we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished," said the ICC official.

He said the officials were left like "sitting ducks" after the security forces ran for cover when the attack happened close to the Gaddafi Stadium.

The driver of Broad's vehicle was killed in the attack and local umpire Ahshan Raza was seriously injured after being shot.

With everyone on the van floor to try to avoid bullets, Broad lay on top of his colleague to protect him.

Broad, speaking in Manchester after his flight home, said: "I'm not a hero. Ahsan Raza took a bullet to the stomach or chest - somewhere in the spleen and lung region.

"I was lying behind him on the floor of the van and there were bullets flying all around us.

"I only noticed he was injured when I saw a large pool of blood had spilled on to the floor and out of the partially opened van door.

"He's just an umpire who loves the game."

Broad, 51, believed it would be very difficult for international cricket to be played in Pakistan in "the foreseeable future" and he called the attacks "the death knell of cricket in Pakistan".

"I think this has shocked the world of cricket," he said. "I hope this has made people sit up and think. In certain circumstances, things take a long time to change in cricket, but in this case things will have to happen fairly quickly."

He also revealed he had raised security concerns ahead of the series but had been reassured by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

"I had an inkling before the Test match leg of the tour that something might happen," Broad said.

"I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security. And clearly that didn't happen.

"When we were in the van we weren't aware of what was going on outside. But afterwards when you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere."

But Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt denied Broad's claims that the protection given to the players and officials was inadequate and said the casualty toll among the security forces proved that.

"Six of them died, nine of them are seriously injured in hospital and he says there were no policeman," Butt told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Where does he come up with such comments? I'm seriously going to report this back to the ICC. This is not the way. There were other people also, all foreigners, not one single one of them was injured."

Security on international tours is the responsibility of the two individual boards but Broad suggested the ICC, the game's governing body, should take a more direct role.

"There are countries who have their own security experts," he said.

"I know England have Reg Dickason from Australia and other countries use him and his group to look at security.

"Reg Dickason didn't think Pakistan was safe for anyone to go to. He was amazed the Sri Lanka tour went ahead.

"But he's not advising Sri Lanka - he's advising England. England clearly wouldn't have gone into the same situation.

"Maybe there's something for the ICC to look at - that they themselves take the safety concerns into consideration, make decisions themselves about their match officials, the PCT.

"Because, of course, no official game can go ahead without the playing control team. So if the ICC say don't go then it doesn't happen."

Broad and the other uninjured officials were flown out of Pakistan three hours after the incident and headed to Dubai before returning home to the UK.

He said he had not had any sleep because of the "images going through my mind".

Broad had managed to contact his son Stuart, who is in the England squad touring the West Indies, and his daughter, who is with the England Women's squad in Australia.

But he will speak to them again "just to reassure them that all things have gone well".

simonrooneyzaga

Yeh i was watching that press conference live - fair play to the man, hasn't slept yet since the events but gave a comprehensive account of what happened and fielded numerous questions from the media.

This is Sangakkara's accounts on Cricinfo.

As I dictate this article we are preparing to fly home. It's been a long day and we can't wait to return home to our families. We were shaken badly, obviously. Pakistan has a reputation for being unstable in the recent past, but we never expected to be caught up in something like this. I am still shocked that a sports team could be targeted in this manner.

We had always felt pretty safe in Pakistan, to be honest. It shows how naïve we were. We realise now that sports people and cricketers are not above being attacked. All the talk that "no one would target cricketers" seems so hollow now. Far from being untouchable, we are now prize targets for extremists. That's an uncomfortable reality we have to come to terms with.

Tuesday started as just another day in Lahore: a morning report to the fitness trainer to check our hydration levels, a quick breakfast and cup of coffee and an 8.30am departure to the ground. We were all looking forward to the third day's play and trying to win the series. Our chief concern was how to wheedle out 19 Pakistan wickets on another true batting pitch.

Our team bus left with three to four police cars in a convoy with around 12 policeman and security officers, including motorbike outriders. Along the route road junctions were cleared and side roads closed to ensure we passed through the traffic easily. It was standard security for teams in this region and we had no worries as we travelled to the stadium.

The bus was full of the normal banter. Players traded stories, mostly about Lahore shopping, and cracked jokes. Others chatted about the cricket and the crucial first session. Then, as we approached the large roundabout before the Gaddafi Stadium, we suddenly heard a noise like a firecracker. The bus came to a halt and some of the guys jumped out of their seats to see what was happening. Then came the shout: "They are shooting at us!"

From the front I heard the screams to "get down, get down" and we all hit the deck. Within seconds we are all sprawled along the floor, lying on top of each other and taking shelter below the seats. The gunfire became louder, we heard explosions (which I understand now were hand grenades) and bullets started to flash through the bus.

I was sitting next to Thilan Samaraweera and close to the young Tharanga Paranavitana. For some reason I moved my head to get a better view and a split second later I felt a bullet fizz past my ear into the vacant seat. Fortunately, as a team, we remained quite calm. No one panicked. After what must have been two minutes standing still, we urged the driver to make a run for the stadium just a few hundred metres away: "Go, go, go" we shouted.

The truth is we owe our lives to the courageous Mohammad Khalil, the driver. I will forever be grateful to him. The tyres of the bus had been shot out and he was in grave personal danger, exposed to gunfire at the front of the bus. But he was hell-bent on getting us to safety and, somehow, he got us moving again. Had Khalil not acted with such courage and presence of mind most of us would have been killed.

Standing still next to the roundabout we were sitting ducks for the 12 gunmen. We only found out afterwards that a rocket launcher just missed us as we began moving and turned for the stadium gates, the rocket blowing up an electricity pylon. Khalil saw a hand grenade tossed at us that failed to explode. Someone must have been looking over us because right now it seems a miracle we survived.

As we moved towards the stadium, Tharanga announced he was hit as he sat up holding his chest. He collapsed onto his seat and I feared the worst. Incredibly, the bullet hit his sternum at such an angle that it did not penetrate. He was fine. Shortly afterwards Thilan complained of a numbness in his leg, which we later found out was a bullet wound.

Thilan and Tharanga were the worst hit. Just before reaching safety I felt a dull ache in my shoulder. Shards of metal, shrapnel, were lodged in the muscle. After being quickly evacuated to the dressing room the paramedics attended to those with minor wounds. My cuts were cleaned. Ajantha Mendis had several shards of metal removed from his head and neck after his hair was shaved off. Paul Farbrace, our assistant coach, had a large piece of shrapnel removed from his arm. Mahela [Jayawardene] had a minor cut to his ankle. After a while we started to calm down, and the phones started ringing.

When the tour was first announced while we were playing in Bangladesh, we had discussed security concerns with the Sri Lanka cricket board. Our own board had originally asked for a longer tour, asking for two extra ODIs, but we requested a shortened tour, an independent assessment of the security situation, some security guarantees, and proper insurance covering terrorist attacks.

We were promised "Head of State" security and we were satisfied with this. We also wanted to play cricket in Pakistan. Nevertheless, with hindsight, we probably underestimated the security threat. In future, we need to very seriously consider how best to better tackle the issue of security in a new post-Lahore reality. We need to consider a more centralised and independent system for assessing security and a more open sharing of security information, not just between boards but with FICA and the players.

From a Pakistan perspective, it is tragic this has happened. Pakistan is a great country with a strong cricket tradition and very hospitable people. We like playing cricket here, but the presence of a small minority pursuing their own agendas at any cost will surely prevent tours for the foreseeable future. I sincerely hope that a solution can be found with time but assume Pakistan will first need a neutral venue solution for their home games.

Will I go back? When you have been through what we have experienced, when you have been targeted by terrorists yourself and been so fortunate to escape, it changes your thinking. It is a big question which cannot be answered now. I suspect, too, for us it can only be answered as an individual. Our families will never feel the same about us leaving to play in Pakistan. That is sad - for Pakistan and world cricket.

d'Oracle

How dare they hurt Ajantha.

youcrazyjesus!

Xavi6 wrote: »

Yeah just this story on the breaking news. Absolutely crazy stuff, though I'm sure this kinda thing goes on all the time but was only brought to light this time due to the high profile nature of the victims.

Eh? That makes absolutely no sense. That's like say plane crashes happen all the time but this was only brought to light this time due to the high profile nature of the World Trade Center.

Terrible news for cricket in Pakistan and the 2011 WC is gone from there and perhaps should be gone from the whole subcontinent too given what happened in Mumbai. These people will have had 4 years to plan something.

Nobody seems to be in charge of security for Test and ODI teams at a central level. Each team employs their own advisor. The Sri Lankans, perhaps due to living in their own environment, accepted bad advice. The Pakistani security services, their cricket board and the ICC should apologise for the criminal lack of security provided.

Aidric

A sickening story that will do huge damage to Pakistani crickets reputation.

Chucky the tree

The pakisatans are doing themselves no favours by coming out and calling Broad a liar. They must have the worst PR team in the world, there contstantly making an absolute balls of things, they should tuck their tail between their legs and stfu.

Zatman

Its an absolute disgrace what happened. These guys ned to be found NOW.

I have heard this attack was actually planned against the India team before they pulled out of their tour to Pakistan

Marshy

Chucky the tree wrote: »

The pakisatans are doing themselves no favours by coming out and calling Broad a liar. They must have the worst PR team in the world, there contstantly making an absolute balls of things, they should tuck their tail between their legs and stfu.

Yeah thats right, its quite unbelievable. They say he has no right to say negative remarks about the security, but he has every right in my mind having almost been killed. There's no sense of accountability from the PCB and the criticism of Broad just serves to isolate them further from the ICC and the cricketing world.

TrueDub

Marshy wrote: »

Yeah thats right, its quite unbelievable. They say he has no right to say negative remarks about the security, but he has every right in my mind having almost been killed. There's no sense of accountability from the PCB and the criticism of Broad just serves to isolate them further from the ICC and the cricketing world.

They seem to be misinterpreting what he's saying too - he didn't say that there were no policemen, just that they abandoned them when the shooting started. The Sri Lankan bus did the right thing and hightailed it for the stadium, but with the Umpires bus driver dead they couldn't, and were left as sitting ducks. It's a wonder they weren't injured more seriously.

The PCB (and various luminaries like Amir Sohail*) seem to be taking legitimate criticisms and using them as an excuse to get up on their high horse. They're notoriously prickly about their reputation in general.

Mind you, having seen what's happened to a lot of politicians in Pakistan, I'm not sure the term "presidential-level security" would reassure me!

* <nasal voice>Hail Ritchie, Hail the great man</nasal voice>. Come on, who gets the reference?

legend73

If I were a policeman I wouldnt be standing between a bunch of guys with AK's and RPG's - I'd be taking cover and trying to difuse the situation once I was in a poistion to do so - not taking bullets, like 6 of my collegues just did.

Not one person can really criticise or blame them (police) for taking the actions they did at the time. I bet you all the delegates of the tour were taking cover and pissing their pants and felt completely vunurable - except when they looked up to see everyone had scattered then they probably thought they were dead men. But they didn't die - not one of them, so someone did there jobs in the most dangerous a situation can get. Spare a thought for them and their families, the ones who survived should be grateful.

Marshy

Well the criticism isn't that these police officers weren't brave and didn't do their job but that they shouldn't have been left so exposed themselves. They were the greatest victims in this obviously.

Its clear, in hindsight, that the security measures were just totally inadequate and there ought to have been greater protection for everyone's sake.