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| How the terrorists duped security |
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Wednesday, March 04, 2009
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: A telephone call from an unknown phone number by an unknown man just before the Sri Lankan team started its journey towards the stadium was the sole reason behind the sudden change of route earlier fixed for the visiting team, which landed all of them in the deadly trap.
Reliable sources in the Interior Ministry said the law enforcement agencies were yet to recover from the shock of the deadly attack when a statement from Governor Punjab Slamaan Taseer created panic among them after he disclosed to the broadcast media that the Sri Lankan players inside the stadium were being airlifted by military helicopters. The governor had little idea that this disclosure might further endanger the lives of the Sri Lankan players as the attackers had the ability to shoot down the copter.
The sources claimed newly-inducted IG Punjab Khalid Farooq and Chief Secretary Najeeb Malik, having no clue to what was going on, were seen desperately contacting the corps commander Lahore for “guidance”.
Top-level sources in the Interior Ministry claimed that a secret agency had warned the Punjab government on Saturday that terrorists might carry out an attack within the next 48 hours. It was a general warning about the terrorist activity. But the official report was ignored by the Lahore administration led by the new chief secretary and the inspector-general police who were said to be more interested in making the MPs fall in line to form a PPP government in the province. The agency has now sent a very hostile report against the CS and the IG for ignoring its report and working on the political agenda of the governor and others, the sources claimed.
According to information obtained from the Interior Ministry sources, when the police escort was ready to take the Sri Lanka team to the stadium, an unknown caller told the cops to change the route and use the Gulberg road instead of the earlier fixed route of the Ferozpur road. The police, without verifying the identity of the caller, followed the new route. But they soon realised that they have fallen into the trap. These cops bore the brunt of the firing but saved the lives of the Sri Lankan players.
The most shocking aspect of this tragic incident was that only one police van was deputed for the security of the Lankan team though the government had ordered the security officials to provide VVIP security to the visiting team during its stay in Pakistan. The intelligence agencies had given warnings even in January that the Sri Lankan team could be a potential target of the terrorists.
According the rickshaw driver whose vehicle the terrorists used to flee, three young men asked him to rush to the bus stop. The driver told the investigators that they kept on pushing him to accelerate, as they seemed in big hurry. According to him these guys were local people, who were communicating in Punjabi.
So far the investigators have not been able to establish whether “outside forces” were involved. The sources said the investigators were in a blind alley as unlike the Indian security forces, which had managed to capture Ajmal Kasab alive along with the recovery of mobile SIMs, the Pakistani investigators seemed to be totally clueless and confused. The only clue they have is that these terrorists were hiding in the Firdous market where the rickshaw driver had dropped them.
The sources said the major reshuffle in the bureaucracy followed by the induction of political appointees in Punjab after the imposition of governor’s rule had created a huge void, which the terrorists exploited.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
