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Pakistan: Terror Hits Cricket!

Categories: South Asia, Pakistan, Breaking News, Disaster, Sport, War & Conflict

Today morning a dozen of gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team [1] ahead of a cricket match with Pakistan team in Lahore. This bloody onslaught has left seven people including five Policemen dead and six Sri Lankan players were amongst the number of injured. The terrorists were armed with latest weapons including hand grenades, rockets, rifles etc. Luckily, there were no casualties among the Sri Lankan players and they are on the way back to their country.

I was in classroom when we heard the loud bangs of those firings. We got curious and started making speculations about what really was happening and one of my friends even passed on a joke as we carried on. But I was sensing that something is really wrong and something terrible has happened. After just five minutes I received an SMS from a friend and learned about the attack.

Everyone including our instructor got scared and he was kind enough to let us go. My University is just near the place of attack, Liberty Chowk. We could already see the traffic jam and a panic situation on the road outside my university. Rumors kept on coming from allover that there was a huge casualty in this attack, few said that Sri Lankans were also amongst them.

I immediately ran to the Internet lab hoping to watch the live TV streams about what had really happened. I was shocked to see the bloody fight between terrorists and the Police as SAMAA TV were airing the footage of the attack. I got relieved to know that Sri Lankans are safe, but at the same time, I was sad to hear about the casualties of the local Policemen.

For more details about my personal accounts, please go to my blog [2].

AlJazeeraEnglish uploaded [3] the following video at YouTube including footage of the attack:

Naeem Sidhu breaks [4] the news with the following words:

On Tuesday morning, our revered Cricketing friends from Sri Lanka were attacked in Lahore, leaving the whole nation embarrassed, shocked and with our heads shaken in disbelief. With the approval of the Colombo Government, SL team decided to tour Pakistan despite security fears and they courageously defied the advice by other Cricketing nations. India was more vocal against the tour by SL team. Due to our security lapse, Tuesday shooting has helped in vindication of their stance and has resulted in  closing doors of International Cricket in Pakistan for many years to come – the worst set back to game in its history.

Yasir Imran tries to wake up [5] the current government with these words:

یہ ایک انتہائی افسوس ناک واقع ہے، جو یقیننا پاکستانی کرکٹ کے لیے بہت خطرناک ثابت ہوسکتا ہے ، مگر حکومت وقت کی کچھ توجہ اس خطرے کو کم کر سکتی ہے، پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کو اپنے مفادات سے کچھ ہٹ کر اس قوم کے لیے بھی کچھ وقت نکالنا چاہیے کیونکہ بھٹو کے بعد سےپیپلز پارٹی کا کوئی بھی دور حکومت پاکستان کے لیے اچھا ثابت نہں ہوا، پیپلز پارٹی کے تمام ادوار میں مہنگائی میں اضافہ ہوا کرپشن بڑھی
“This is an extremely sad incident, that can certainly be proved as quite bad for Pakistani cricket. But the current government's attention can lower this danger. Pakistan Peoples Party should think beyond their own benefit, to spare some time for the nation because after the rein of Bhutto's Rule, none of the Peoples Party governments have been proved good for the country. In all of their governments, inflation and corruption has increased”

Pakistani Housewife blog expresses [6] frustration:

What has happened to the world we live in? Is there an end to this madness? The situation in the world in general and in Pakistan in particular is getting worse everyday. These are the streets we walk in, the roads we drive on with our kids but nothing seems to be the same. I think these terror attacks kill a few people but terrorize the minds of hundreds and thousands of us. They make us numb, takes away the desire to live and the hope for a happy future is missing from our lives, in these terrible times.

Teeth Maestro says [7]:

It is now certain that this tragic event marks the end of Cricket in Pakistan for sometime, the blame game with India is already nearing a frenzy, analysts like Kamran Khan [8] on Geo and Hamid Gul have pointed fingers towards India already. One must note that the attack looks erringly too similar to the Mumbai [9] attack [10] but logically one must understand that this could very well be a cover up to instigate a war of words between India and Pakistan. Our politicians, intelligence agencies and media were blood thirsty looking for an excuse to kick back at India for the Mumbai assault and todays events in Lahore might serve them with an opportunity.

Kamran Abbasi at cricinfo [11] summarizes:

The least of the consequences of this disaster is that those who have advocated the continuation of international cricket in Pakistan – including me – have been proved wrong. No international team will now visit Pakistan, and the Pakistan Cricket Board should voluntarily arrange all future tours at neutral venues for the next year, may be longer. This the darkest day in the history of Pakistan cricket and it occurred in a pleasant suburb of Lahore, a once great city of gardens and tranquility,