15 April 2010 08:37 am
Sri Lanka has expressed surprise at comments made by a Pakistan Minister who had claimed that the Sri Lankan authorities were not co-operating in the investigations on the Lahore attack last year.
Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Air Chief Marshall Jayalath Weerakkody told Daily Mirror online that he was surprised as to what prompted the Pakistani Minister to make such a statement especially when Sri Lanka had clearly stated that they would not get involved in the investigations.
He added that although he had not yet received any complaint from the Pakistani government, there was nothing much the Sri Lankan government would do as the attack had taken place on Pakistani soil. “I do not know what more Pakistan expects us to do? We had clearly stated from the beginning that Sri Lanka will not get involved in the investigations. However we had asked for a speedy investigation by the Pakistani authorities,” Air Chief Marshall Weerakkody said.
He also maintained that the Sri Lankan government had requested for a report on the outcome of the investigations which they had not yet received from the Pakistani authorities to date. “We are yet to receive the report. We need some answers from Pakistan on who is responsible for the attack as it is the Pakistani authorities who will know best as it took place in their country. What more can we do to help them solve an attack which happened in their country?” the Air Chief Marshall queried.
Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday the Sri Lanka government is not cooperating on the investigations in the attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Lahore last year, The News in Pakistan reported.
According to The News the Pakistan Interior Minister told reporters that he would protest to the Sri Lankan ambassador in Pakistan that Sri Lanka denied cooperation with Pakistan’s investigation team during its tour to the country. (Daily Mirror online)