Pakistanis join hands to say 'sorry' to Sri Lanka

Shocked by the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, Pakistanis around the world have joined hands to say "sorry" to the island nation.

"I am sorry too, Sri Lanka," said an open letter to citizens of Sri Lanka by Pakistani student Samad Khurram, who created a flutter last year by refusing to accept an award from the US ambassador to protest drone attacks in the tribal areas.
 
"This letter is our expression of deep sorrow and grief at the savage attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team while they were touring our country. As Pakistani citizens, we are shocked, angered, and greatly embarrassed at being the source of such anxiety to the people of Sri Lanka," Khurram, currently enrolled at Harvard University, wrote in Sri Lanka's Daily News.
 
He said there could never be a justification for such horrendous acts of violence, and the Pakistani nation strongly condemns the "evil act".

Khurram said the only consolation was that all the players survived the attack.
 
"We sincerely pray for the swift recovery of Mahela Jayawardena, Thilan Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Chaminda Vaas and Paul Farbrace, and hope that they are able to return to
cricket soon."

Pakistani bloggers have also created a special blog "We are sorry, Sri Lanka" to convey their angst.
 
"I salute your cricketers. I am ashamed. And I am sorry. Of course I cannot speak for everyone, but please accept at least one little apology from a Pakistani. Anyone care to join me to apologize? Forget who did it or when or how. We must apologize to our guests, regardless of anything. I am sorry, again," wrote Ali, a blogger.
 
Comments soon started piling up on the blog and a girl who is not quite a cricket fan also left a comment.
 
"I'm not a cricket fan as such, but I was unable to contain my emotions when I heard about it. I feel a line has been crossed of human decency. We could all kill each other in our own homeland but to do that to a team of visitors whose only purpose was decency and sport and not to have given them the courtesy of full security is beyond my comprehension," she wrote.

"We have all collectively failed as a nation, people and state today," wrote the blogger with the nickname Opptogirl.

Another avid blogger, Beenish Khan, devoted a post to the Sri Lankan team.
 
"Before moving on with life, I need to make an apology, an apology with Sri Lankan nation. I am really sorry that this tragic thing happened with your players and on our soil, I am really sorry that we invited you but were not able to provide you any security and I, as a Pakistani national, completely accept that we failed miserably, irrespective of who was behind this attack, the whole responsibility lies with us and only us," she wrote.
 
Khurram also paid tribute to the Sri Lankan team for touring Pakistan after several foreign teams had refused to do so because of security concerns.

"We therefore thank the Sri Lankan team for agreeing to play in Pakistan even when other countries refused citing security concerns.

"In hindsight, those apprehensions seem very valid, but the courage of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and players in agreeing to play is laudable, and the nation of Pakistan shall be forever indebted to your country," he wrote.
 
Eight persons were killed and over 20 others, including seven Sri Lankan players and a coach, were injured when a dozen terrorists attacked the team's convoy in Lahore on Tuesday.