A bus carrying the Sri Lankan team nears Gaddafi Stadium for 3rd days play of the second Test. The motorcade consists of two armed police escorts and a van with umpires and their liason officers.
Terrorists open fire at police escort vehicles, killing 6 guards and 2 bystanders. Bus target of random firing. The bus driver spots a man aiming rocket at bus. Another man throws a grenade. Khalil notices more assailants getting down from white car.
As the bus takes the roundabout, the rocket misses Lankan players. However, driver of another bus following behind is caught in firing, killed.
Umpire Ahsan Raza critically injured. Liaison officer Abdul Sami too wounded. Firing continues for about 25 minutes. Army chopper evacuates Lankans. ALL attackers flee, leaving behind weapons and ammunition.
-Taken from Times of India, 4th March 2009
-TV grab from 'AAJ TV'
-Bodies of the Pakistani police officers that were shot by the terrorists
The Pakistan Cricket Board, PCB, has officially canceled the Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan, according to the media.This is unnervingly similar to the terror attacks on Mumbai in November. A planned terrorist attack with heavy weaponry. the same methods and the same kind of people. The the best of all is that they are still at large. I have a question. Is this the sign of Pakistan unraveling? India's ruling party reacted to the attacks on Sri Lanka's cricket team by suggesting Pakistan was on its way to becoming "the Somalia of South Asia." Pakistan is not in control in any sense of the word. And yet, they have the nerve of immediately accusing India for being responsible for this attack.
Pakistan has a web of extremist networks, some with links to al-Qaida and the Taliban, that have attacked foreign civilians in a bid to destabilize the government and punish it for supporting the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
It is often said that terrorism and sports should not be mixed. This too has now been breached. Sports tend to bring nations together. Cricket is viewed as a symbol of religious camaraderie at a time of religious and political strife, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka are set to co-host the 2010 Cricket World Cup, and now it doesn't seem likely that Pakistan will being a host country anymore. This incident would end, perhaps for years, Pakistan's hopes for hosting any international sporting event.
I strongly feel that taking a softer approach with Pakistan will not be the best step that India can take. Giving Pakistan leverage whenever it is under pressure has never favored India, right from 1971 till now. But our, at times, complacent attitude will leave us with no other option but to live with a failing state of a neighbor.
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