Sophisticated Attack by Gunmen in Lahore

Usually when Pakistan makes headlines, I write home to friends and family and I’m able to tell them something like, “Don’t worry, that attack happened somewhere really far away.” “It was near the Afghan border, and I’m not planning on going there so don’t worry.” “Karachi is a 24-hour drive from Lahore.”

When things happen in Lahore, I can usually comfort people with, “Oh that was on the other side of the city. People don’t protest in my area.”

Well today I don’t have any excuses, as the sophisticated attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team happened just a mile from where I work. Twelve highly organized gunmen came at the cricket team from four different directions as they moved towards Qaddafi Stadium. The stadium is in central Lahore, and one of the entrances is on Ferozepur Road. It’s a place I’ve gone several times for different events, and the stadium’s location near the Daewoo bus station makes it somewhere that we often find ourselves driving past. Qaddafi stadium is smack in the middle of busy areas of Lahore; it is not located in some out of the way place. At least five policemen were killed in the attack and several players were injured. Two players from Sri Lanka are in the hospital, and the rest were evacuated by military helicopter from Qaddafi Stadium.

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Gunmen Attack Sri Lanka Cricket Team in Lahore

My Take on the Bombing and Security in Pakistan

From an American expatriate living in Lahore, Pakistan

Saturday Pakistan’s capital city was rocked by one of the deadliest suicide attacks in its history. At least 43 people are confirmed dead and 250 injured after a large blast at the Marriott Hotel. The blast left a 20-foot crater and a fiery inferno that blazed for six hours.

Internal Security in Pakistan

Unfortunately, this attack and its aftermath do not come as a surprise. Having lived in Pakistan for over two years now, I have come to expect this type of news. Most Pakistanis are desensitized to the terror attacks that plague their country. When an attack happens, news tends to spread rapidly via SMS and word of mouth. Then within 24 hours people are back to business as usual. In the case of this blast, my husband and I did not even find out about it until Sunday morning when we checked the news headlines. None of our many friends in Lahore thought it newsworthy enough to send us a message or let us know about it. In the past, we’ve received multiple text messages about news like Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. People are just not shocked by bomb blasts anymore. In a way, they are expected and accepted as part of the daily life of this country. That doesn’t mean people like them or agree with the bombers, but the general public does not seem to see any course of action to take in response to these attacks.

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