Pakistan has sought Sri Lanka's clearance to send a top level Police team to investigate reports of Tiger guerrilla links in the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore on March 3.
Such links reportedly surfaced during talks between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Libya two weeks ago. Both leaders were in Tripoli to attend the 40th anniversary in office of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi.
There have been contradictory reports on who made the revelations of Tiger guerrilla links in the Lahore attack that left eight dead and 20 others, including Sri Lankan cricketers, injured.
Some media reports claimed it was Premier Gilani who told President Rajapaksa of the involvement of the LTTE. However, most media reports in Pakistan said their Prime Minister learnt of it only from President Rajapaksa.
Pakistani authorities, the Sunday Times learnt, have already requested Sri Lanka for both clearance and assistance for their probe team. They plan to arrive in Colombo after the Ramazan period.
Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik told a Pakistan TV channel on Thursday that he has already constituted a team. "The Sri Lankan Government has handed over some important clues that are being examined and those leads are expected to nab the persons behind the attack," Malik was quoted as saying. He said he had been directed by Premier Gilani to conduct the investigation.
According to the TV channel, "Gilani has said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave him clues linking elements in Sri Lanka with the terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including the strike on the Sri Lankan cricket team, during a recent meeting in Libya. |
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