| Submit your comments on this article | |
| India-Pakistan | |
| Referee fears Pakistan shooting a set-up | |
| 2009-03-06 | |
International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad says he fears the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus and match officials in Lahore may have been aided by a conspiracy involving Pakistani security forces.
The 51-year-old former England batsman escaped unhurt, as did Australian on-field umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis. But six policemen and the driver of the umpires' minibus were killed and Pakistani fourth umpire Ahsan Raza was shot in the chest. Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were among 19 people wounded. Broad, speaking at Manchester Airport following his return to England, slammed Pakistan security forces for leaving the vehicles like "sitting ducks". "We were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished," he said. Taufel and Davis echoed his concerns, criticising the security for cricketing officials. As he tried to make sense of what had happened, Broad said there were several questions he was struggling to answer. "On the first two days (of the Test) both buses left (the hotel) at the same time with escorts. On this particular day the Pakistan bus left five minutes after the Sri Lankan bus. Why?" he said. "It went through my mind as we were leaving the hotel - 'Where is the Pakistan bus?' But there were times during the Karachi Test when the Sri Lankans went first and Pakistan went afterwards. "I thought maybe they were having five or 10 minutes more in the hotel and would turn up later, but after this happened you start to think: 'Did someone know something and they held the Pakistan bus back?'" Broad said although he had no evidence for a conspiracy, the events he had witnessed had left him perplexed. "At every junction from the hotel through to where we were attacked and all the way to the ground there were police in light blue uniforms with hand-guns controlling traffic," he said. "How did the terrorists come to the roundabout and how did they start firing and these guys not do anything about it? There were plenty of police there and yet these terrorists came in, did what they had to do and then went again. It is beyond me." What made Broad all the more angry was that prior to the incident he had already told the ICC about his safety worries. "I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security, and clearly that didn't happen," he said. "When you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere. They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks. I am extremely angry we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished. "I am extremely fortunate to be here today." However, Lahore city police chief Habib-ur Rehman told AFP: "It was precisely because of police valour and bravery that the Sri Lankan team and the international umpires survived." And PCB chairman Ijaz Butt added: "How can he [Broad] say that when six policemen died in the attack?" The incident appears to have ended all prospect of major international cricket in Pakistan for the foreseeable future. But Broad, the father of England fast bowler Stuart, stopped short of saying people should avoid the country, and indeed the whole subcontinent, where the 2011 World Cup is due to be co-hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, completely. "Clearly I have views on the subcontinent, particularly after what has happened here," he said. "I will share them with people who want to know, but it's not my place to sit here and say don't go to the subcontinent as I've enjoyed many games in the subcontinent, even in Pakistan. I think it's a situation where we need to let the dust settle." | |
| Posted by:john frum |