Sri Lanka on Monday rejected reports that neighbouring India may have been involved in the militant attack against the island's national cricket team in Pakistan. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said Pakistan has promised an interim report on last Tuesday's Lahore assault, in which seven players and the assistant coach were injured and six policemen and two civilians killed.
"From our point of view, there is no Indian involvement," he said in response to media speculation that New Delhi had links to the ambush in an attempt to discredit its nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan. "India has helped us in our counter-terrorist efforts. I don't see a need for India to target the Sri Lankan cricket team," Bogollagama said.
Bogollagama said Pakistan was investigating the Lahore incident where unknown gunmen fired automatic weapons, grenades and a rocket launcher on the team bus, officials and coaches on their way to the second Test in Lahore.
The Australian and United States governments have also offered their support in tracking down those responsible for the deadly ambush, said Bogollagama, who held talks with Pakistani leaders shortly after the incident. "We are not ruling out links with the LTTE. The LTTE are known to have links with international terrorist groups. Our initial suspicions are on the LTTE," Bogollagama said.
Three Sri Lankan players and their British assistant coach Paul Farbrace remained in hospital on Monday, while the other four were discharged last week after the squad was flown home following the shooting, a doctor said. The government has hired a team of psychologists to help the squad overcome the trauma, Geethanjana Mendis, head of the Sri Lankan sports ministry medical unit said.
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