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Pakistan marks one year since Sri Lanka attacks
Pakistan on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, striving to revive the game in the cricket-mad nation and forge a path out of isolation.
Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were injured and eight Pakistanis killed when attackers on foot opened fire and hurled grenades at the cricketers' bus en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in the eastern city of Lahore.
The militants escaped, the second Test was abandoned and the Sri Lankan team flown home as condemnation poured in and the Al-Qaeda-linked menace in Pakistan was again flung under the spotlight.
Lahore police chief Pervez Rathor told private TV channel Express that, one year later, two presumed attackers had been charged, one killed in a shootout and five were on the run.
Pakistan blamed the assault on the Taliban and the attack ended any hopes of hosting international matches in the immediate future.
Pakistan had already been a virtual no-go zone for foreign teams since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which put the nuclear-armed country on the frontline of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the war against Al-Qaeda.
The Sri Lankan team were in Pakistan as a replacement for India, which cancelled a tour after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani militants.
On Wednesday, police and the law minister of Punjab province, Rana Sanaullah, laid wreaths at the scene of the attack in Liberty Square, saluting six police and two civilians who were killed and watched by tearful relatives.
"We are here to remember the sacrifices given by our brave policemen. The whole nation is proud of them," said Sanaullah.
"Terrorists want to destroy peace in Pakistan," he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and players also marked the sombre anniversary. Board officials joined by cricket fans laid floral tributes to the victims at the scene of attack and observed a minute's silence.
"We pause to remember the victims, to grieve with the families and friends of those who died, and to honour the heroes of that day who sacrificed their lives to save others," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said in a statement.
"Even though a year has passed, it has not erased the shock, horror and pain that we all felt on that day."
PCB chief operating officer Waseem Bari said the International Cricket Council (ICC) had formed a special task force to help Pakistan revive its reputation in the face of Islamist attacks.
"Cricket is the lifeline of Pakistan and we want to expand it," he said.
A month after the March 3, 2009 attacks, the ICC stripped Pakistan of the 14 matches it had been scheduled to host for the 2011 World Cup.
Butt has said Pakistan lost at least 40 million dollars over India's tour cancellation and feared an annual 70-million-dollar loss in television rights if teams continued to refuse tours.
"We hope that as ground realities change, things will improve and international cricket will be revived in Pakistan," Bari told AFP.
More than 1,130 people have died in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since the Sri Lankan assault, bringing to more than 3,000 the number to have died in an Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked campaign since July 2007.
"Pakistan is suffering its impact not only in cricket but also in other sports as we have not been able to host any international sporting event," said former captain Ramiz Raja, a commentator during the ill-fated Sri Lanka Test.
Over the last year, Pakistan have been forced to play their home series in United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.
Despite the troubles at home, Pakistan have achieved some success on the field, with a stunning victory in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at Lord's last year.
However, in January they suffered humiliating defeats on their tour of Australia, losing the one-day series 5-0 and the Test series 3-0 and prompting the PCB to order an investigation into the whitewash.
They are due to play Australia in two Twenty20 matches and two Tests -- originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan -- in England later this year.
Pakistan marks one year since Sri Lanka attacks - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE
Pakistan on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, striving to revive the game in the cricket-mad nation and forge a path out of isolation.
Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were injured and eight Pakistanis killed when attackers on foot opened fire and hurled grenades at the cricketers' bus en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in the eastern city of Lahore.
The militants escaped, the second Test was abandoned and the Sri Lankan team flown home as condemnation poured in and the Al-Qaeda-linked menace in Pakistan was again flung under the spotlight.
Lahore police chief Pervez Rathor told private TV channel Express that, one year later, two presumed attackers had been charged, one killed in a shootout and five were on the run.
Pakistan blamed the assault on the Taliban and the attack ended any hopes of hosting international matches in the immediate future.
Pakistan had already been a virtual no-go zone for foreign teams since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which put the nuclear-armed country on the frontline of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the war against Al-Qaeda.
The Sri Lankan team were in Pakistan as a replacement for India, which cancelled a tour after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, blamed on Pakistani militants.
On Wednesday, police and the law minister of Punjab province, Rana Sanaullah, laid wreaths at the scene of the attack in Liberty Square, saluting six police and two civilians who were killed and watched by tearful relatives.
"We are here to remember the sacrifices given by our brave policemen. The whole nation is proud of them," said Sanaullah.
"Terrorists want to destroy peace in Pakistan," he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and players also marked the sombre anniversary. Board officials joined by cricket fans laid floral tributes to the victims at the scene of attack and observed a minute's silence.
"We pause to remember the victims, to grieve with the families and friends of those who died, and to honour the heroes of that day who sacrificed their lives to save others," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said in a statement.
"Even though a year has passed, it has not erased the shock, horror and pain that we all felt on that day."
PCB chief operating officer Waseem Bari said the International Cricket Council (ICC) had formed a special task force to help Pakistan revive its reputation in the face of Islamist attacks.
"Cricket is the lifeline of Pakistan and we want to expand it," he said.
A month after the March 3, 2009 attacks, the ICC stripped Pakistan of the 14 matches it had been scheduled to host for the 2011 World Cup.
Butt has said Pakistan lost at least 40 million dollars over India's tour cancellation and feared an annual 70-million-dollar loss in television rights if teams continued to refuse tours.
"We hope that as ground realities change, things will improve and international cricket will be revived in Pakistan," Bari told AFP.
More than 1,130 people have died in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since the Sri Lankan assault, bringing to more than 3,000 the number to have died in an Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked campaign since July 2007.
"Pakistan is suffering its impact not only in cricket but also in other sports as we have not been able to host any international sporting event," said former captain Ramiz Raja, a commentator during the ill-fated Sri Lanka Test.
Over the last year, Pakistan have been forced to play their home series in United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.
Despite the troubles at home, Pakistan have achieved some success on the field, with a stunning victory in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at Lord's last year.
However, in January they suffered humiliating defeats on their tour of Australia, losing the one-day series 5-0 and the Test series 3-0 and prompting the PCB to order an investigation into the whitewash.
They are due to play Australia in two Twenty20 matches and two Tests -- originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan -- in England later this year.
Pakistan marks one year since Sri Lanka attacks - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE
