Approval sought for ICC to get report on attack on Sri Lanka team

The Pakistan Cricket Board has sought government approval to present a report to the International Cricket Council on last year's attack on the Sri Lankan team at Lahore.

ISLAMABAD // The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sought government approval to present a report to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on last year's attack on the Sri Lankan team at Lahore. Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB spokesman, said yesterday that once the government gives the go ahead, the report will be sent to the ICC. He declined to give a timetable. "It was a judicial inquiry and we require permission from the government to dispatch the report to ICC," he told AP.

A panel of Lahore High Court judges compiled the report after gunmen killed six policemen and a van driver in Lahore when they attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers to a Test match in March of last year. Several Sri Lankan players were injured in the attack. Pakistan was subsequently dropped as co-host of the 2011 World Cup, and has been barred from hosting any international cricket since.

Limited-overs series against Australia and New Zealand were played in the UAE last year and Pakistan played two Test matches against Australia in England this month rather than hosting them in Pakistan. Sarwar said the PCB is "on the same page" with the Dubai-based ICC in looking for a way to revive international cricket in Pakistan. Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, recently suggested sending a hand-picked side to play in Pakistan late next year - depending on the advice of security experts.

Lorgat also expressed his willingness to accompany the team to Pakistan. * AP