Let the world know that this is the truth.

By Noor Nizam

(March 04, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) At least dozen gunmen opened fire and lobbed hand grenades at the bus carrying the Sri Lankan team to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the security convoy escorting the bus. The attackers fired AK-47s and rockets and hurled grenades at Sri Lanka's team bus as it was being driven to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium for the third day of a match against Pakistan. They then escaped after a firefight with police that lasted 30 minutes.

The attack killed six security personnel and two civilians including the driver of a convoy vehicle transporting umpires. Unidentified gunmen opened fire and lobbed grenades on the bus carrying the Sri Lanka cricket team to the Gadaffi stadium morning of march 3rd., injuring eight players including the assistant British coach. According to the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, Dulip Mendis, the two top order batsmen Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranawithana were injured by the gun shots while other players were injured by shrapnel from the shattered glasses of the bus. Captain Mahela Jayawardena, Vice Captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Chaminda Vaas were injured by the shrapnel. Meanwhile Pakistani officials this afternoon said that two injured Sri Lankan players, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranawithana will not be moved for another 72 hours from hospital.

As many as 60 suspects related to the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team have been arrested on Tuesday, private TV channel Geo reported.

The police also seized an explosive-laden jacket and weapons from a rickshaw.

"Terrorism is terrorism and almost entire region in South Asia have experienced it," said Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona today on the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, the most dangerous incident faced by a national cricket team in world history, will not affect the ties with Pakistan. That is a solid voice of assurance of trust and faith by the Government and people of Sri Lanka in the Government and people of Pakistan. “Pakistan Zindabad”.

In a generosity of compassion and brotherhood, Pakistan captain Younus Khan on today apologised to the Sri Lankan players for the terror attack carried out on them near Gaddafi stadium here and lauded the visiting team for their noble gesture towards the bus driver who played a key role in driving the visitors to safety.

Sri Lankan cricket enthusiastics have already written of the possibility of a LTTE involvement that cannot be ruled out. Meanwhile India has claimed that the attack was similar to the one in India's financial capital of Mumbai in November, in which more than 170 people were killed by gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades.

But the truth can be traced to the anger and vengeance the LTTE has towards Pakistan for it unresolved support to the Security forces of Sri Lanka to fight terrorism. The new Pakistani PM” has vehemently advocated the support to Sri Lanka to wipe out terrorism in South East Asia.

It is also on record that he made the statement “We Should Fight Terrorism Individually and Collectively” at the SAARC Colombo Summit in 2008. Furthermore, Pakistan has also maintained it’s promise made last year in February by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf of Pkistan’s support for the efforts of the Sri Lankan government in its fight against terrorism and to preserve Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the need for elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The world cannot deny the cardinal truth that it was because of Pakistan’s undeterred support of providing military hardware, armoury, arsenal, weapons, ammunitions, expertise and specialized training to the Sri Lankan security forces of the government of HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa, that Sri Lanka has gained to tame the LTTE military power and reach the point of winning the war in Mullathivu and Puthukudiyiruppu as it is today. Pakistan had extended billions of dollars worth of these military hardware, items and services which no other government, could have provided to a true friendly sovereign government. Added to this was the support extended by Iran in the area of economic and infrastructure building support and subsidized petroleum exports to Sri Lanka, another Islamic Nation in the forefront of supporting Sri Lanka to stand to fight the threat of terrorism in the wake of financial throttling implemented by the western countries who were blaming Sri Lanka for unreasonable HR violations and extra judicial killings, never proved. Yet the Muslims of Sri Lankan have not taken pride of these deeds done by their brothers in Pakistan and Iran or politically harassed the Mahinda Rajapaksa government for undue political favours. Still the Muslim factor in the equation of the Peace Process is in the a stalemate situation, but the Muslims of Sri Lankan are hopeful that a just resolution be made.

So what thus this all amount to?

It is a geopolitical strategy that is in the working in the Indian Ocean ring influenced by certain geopolitical forces. The growth and popularity of Pakistan and as a trusted neighbor in times of want and need, though Pakistan herself is a developing country depended on foreign assistance, to the small brothers like Sri Lanka. It is a “pain in the neck” for India and the Western powers that have vested interests in the region. Pakistan’s closeness to China is a thorn in the foot to India as it sees the influence of China in abundance in the international political playing field and the economical stability of China in the face of the terrible recession faced by the West and North American states. Moreover, traditionally, Pakistan and Sri Lankan have been bosom buddies since the Bandaranaike – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regimes.

In this background, there was a need to drive a wedge between the two nations and people of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Cricket being the most popular sport in both countries see even in the ghettos and slums of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the enemies selected the most sensitive activity to create the scenario of hate of a people towards another, attaching or killing the National Team members of a friendly visiting country.

That would start the wave of hatred, firstly of all Muslims in Sri Lanka by the Sinhalese and then the hatredness of the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka towards the friendly people of Pakistan and its Government. The final goal – conflict between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the set-back to the friendly relations, was what this terror attach on the Sri Lankan Cricket Team in Lahore on the morning of Tuesday the 3rd., March 2009 was all about.

Rightly said by Pakistan the attach was perpetrated by the enemies of Pakistan-Sri Lanka friendship. The world should know that this is the truth.

-Sri Lanka Guardian