‘Attack on cricketers funded by SL elements’

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, September 07, 2009
Gilani says Sri Lankan president gave him vital information about incident
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had told him the terrorists involved in the attack on his country’s cricket team in Lahore were funded from elements in the island.

Gilani said he had asked Rajapaksa to share more information about the funding so that Pakistan could send a team from the Interior Ministry to look into the issue further.“In Libya, the Sri Lankan president told me that they have clues that the attack on the Lankan team was funded from Sri Lanka. I told him that if he was willing to share these clues, we could send our officials from the Interior Ministry,” Gilani told reporters after visiting Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi at a hospital here.

Six players and 20 others were injured when the convoy of the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by a group of terrorists in Lahore on March 3. —AgenciesAsim Yasin adds: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has expressed the resolve to root out terrorism at any cost, the biggest threat to society.

“The government is pursuing a long-term and multi-pronged strategy to root out terrorism from the country,” he said while talking to newsmen at the Al-Shifa International Hospital.The prime minister said the government was moving forward on a multi-pronged strategy while taking on board all the stakeholders to root out terrorism.

He said during his recent meeting with the Sri Lankan president in Libya, he was informed that terrorists were being financed through Sri Lanka and the president offered to share the information that could even break the networks of terrorists.

He said the Ministry of Interior would contact the Sri Lankan government to share this information for further investigations in this regard. The prime minister said as the situation in Swat was returning to normalcy, the government had decided to strengthen the civil set-up, including law-enforcement agencies, and to establish a permanent cantonment there.

The prime minister said all forces, including political, military and bureaucracy, besides the nation, were united to wiping out the menace of terrorism. “Therefore, no stone would be left unturned to crush the militants,” he added.

He said the Ulema would also be taken on board to raise awareness among the people regarding the true teachings of Islam and about the negative impression of suicide attacks that had been promoted by the militants.

Answering a question, Gilani said a meeting of the chief ministers would be held in Islamabad on Wednesday. “They would discuss a strategy to ensure provision of sugar across the country at a uniform rate keeping in view the ruling of the Lahore High Court in this regard,” he added.

He said in fact, the federal government, in consultation with the provincial governments, had devised a strategy to provide sugar at Rs 47 per kg, but the meeting would review the sugar price in the light of the Lahore High Court verdict.

Responding to another question, the prime minister said the people of the Northern Areas had been given internal sovereignty with a view to protecting their rights and bringing them to the mainstream. “This landmark decision has been taken with an objective to resolve the problems of the people of these areas who are facing hardships since long,” he added.

He said the people and leadership of Azad Kashmir were taken into confidence before this decision. However, reservations of the Kashmiri leaders in this regard, if any, would be removed, he added.

The prime minister said Pakistan was committed to resolving the Kashmir issue according to the wishes of the Kashmiris and no compromise would be made on that.Earlier, Prime Minister Gilani enquired after the health of Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi. He presented a bouquet to the minister and prayed for his early recovery. He assured the minister that the government would take every step to apprehend those involved in the attack on him and they would be brought to book.

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