LTTE was behind attack on SL team: Gilani

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the mastermind behind the attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3.

The Pakistan Prime Minister's statement was in complete contrast to what the Government had claimed before, that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was behind the attack. 

"Attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore was funded by LTTE," Gilani said.

Gilani revealed that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had informed him about LTTE's link in the attack, where a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers was fired upon by a dozen of 12 gunmen near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

"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 added.

Six members of the Sri Lankan cricket team were injured in the attack, while six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed.

Following the incident, several cricket teams including the Australian cricket team, which had a Test and a ODI series scheduled in the country, canceled their tour over security concerns.

Recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) also canceled matches of the 2011 World Cup, which were to be played in Pakistan.