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I slamabad: Strongly condemning the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, former president Pervez
Musharraf Thursday termed it a conspiracy against Pakistan.
"Whatever happened was very bad. I condemn it in the strongest terms. It was a conspiracy against Pakistan,
an attempt to destroy Pakistan's cricket," Musharraf told reporters here in his first public comments on Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lankan team bus that
resulted in the deaths of eight people and injuries to six players and an assistant coach.
"Cricket is finished. This is very bad," he added.
Musharraf was also harsh on the security forces for not reacting swiftly and effectively when 12 terrorists armed with automatic weapons targeted the team bus.
"I expected the security forces to shoot down those people who attacked the Sri Lankan team. There are elite forces placed there and they are expected to react within three seconds of any such incident.
"This the kind of training that these forces are provided with. The standards of the training have to improve if we are to tackle such situations effectively," the former president maintained.
He also lamented that the residents of the area where the attack occurred did not react to the outrage.
"I also expected those who were there in the nearby buildings to react immediately. They should have been brave,
a man could have taken his car and run over those terrorists. The public did not react at all," Musharraf contended.
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