ISLAMABAD: A top Pakistan official yesterday refused to rule out foreign involvement in the Sri Lankan cricket attacks despite international warnings that the nation faced serious internal dangers.
“I cannot rule out (involvement of a) foreign hand in the incident,” Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters, when asked if Sri Lanka’s separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could be linked to the attacks.
Local newspapers suggested that preliminary investigations pointed to the involvement of home-grown militant outfits in Tuesday’s assaults, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which India blamed for the Mumbai attacks. An LeT spokesman denied any involvement in the attack, which killed eight Pakistanis and wounded seven Sri Lankan players.
The initial probe also suggested serious security lapses. According to sources, the Punjab administration did not adopt ‘Standard Operating Procedures’, which are meant for VVIP security and preventive measures suggested by the CID of Punjab province.
The report said “very vivid” security lapses allowed gunmen to ambush the Sri Lanka cricket team and escape. It reveals that there were no security personnel to acknowledge route clearance on the wireless. According to the report, security arrangements for the Sri Lankan team were adequate, however, no similar security arrangements were taken on the route.
The report also reveals that arms and explosives used in the ambush on Sri Lankan team were sophisticated and factory-made while the vehicle was purchased in February. An intelligence source told ‘Arab News’, attackers were from Afghanistan and some parts of Balochistan’s border regions and were most-likely trained and funded by Indian intelligence outfit RAW.
Police released sketches of four suspects and have brought in around two dozen people for questioning, but no leads have been announced and no one has claimed responsibility. Malik said no clues pointed to the involvement of “religious” militants and Punjab police chief Khaled Farooq told AFP it was “not correct” that jihadi and Al-Qaeda groups were responsible.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Pakistan is facing a “mortal threat” from its internal enemies and that security is deteriorating. He told the BBC that a political showdown between President Asif Ali Zardari and the main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was last week disqualified from contesting elections, was contributing to the problem. Miliband said it was vital for politicians “to unite against the mortal threat Pakistan faces, which is a threat from its internal enemies, not its traditional external enemies.”
Pakistani police said they were making progress in the preliminary investigation into the attacks, which they hoped to wrap up within two days. “It is expected within one or two days. There has been very positive progress in the investigation,” Farooq said. Embarrassing footage, captured by closed-circuit cameras, showed several suspects making a leisurely getaway from the scene of the attack, ambling down a deserted road without any police or security forces chasing them.
Punjab provincial Gov. Salman Taseer said on Thursday authorities knew the identity of those responsible for the Lahore attack but he declined to elaborate. Another senior police officer declined to comment on that, saying only: “We’re on the right track.” There is a long list of suspects.
Members of LeT are emerging as the most likely culprits, Dawn newspaper yesterday cited investigators as saying. Another group that analysts say could have carried out the Lahore attack is the Al-Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Dawn newspaper said investigators had ruled out the possibility of involvement by Indian agents or ethnic minority Tamil guerrillas from Sri Lanka.
— With input from agencies
