Insight February 9, 2010, 11:24AM EST

Pakistan: Still Reeling from Cricket Terrorism

In cricket-obsessed Pakistan, last year's attack on foreign players left the country more divided internally and isolated internationally

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It lasted barely a half hour and yet its impact continues to span a subcontinent almost a year later. On Mar. 3, 2009, 12 militants with guns, grenades, and rocket launchers attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to a match at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan. Six Pakistani policemen escorting the team and two civilians were killed while seven Sri Lankan players and an assistant coach were injured. Various reports blamed different groups: al-Qaeda, local Taliban, Sri Lanka's LTTE Tamil rebels, and even India's spy agency. It may never be clear why this happened or what forces were involved.

Three points are certain. Terrorism-stricken, cricket-obsessed Pakistan has lost significant revenue, a central piece of its national identity, and any chance of improving its often-prickly relations with neighboring India through "cricket diplomacy." In this sense, Pakistan continues to suffer cricket terrorism's horrible effects, economically, sociologically, and politically.

Since the terrorist attacks, no foreign teams have competed in Pakistan. Most recently, South Africa decided not to tour Pakistan in October and November because of security concerns. Although Pakistan has tried to make the best of the situation by offering to host its "home" matches on neutral territory in the United Arab Emirates—as it did against New Zealand in October 2009—this brings a significant financial loss to Pakistani cricket.

Pakistan has lost millions of dollars in revenue for its cricket industry since the 2009 terrorist attacks. The Pakistan Cricket Board earns money from matches held in the country, with the money going to the team, renovation work on stadiums, and more generally, to the future of Pakistani cricket. Local channels earn significant fees to televise these matches: One estimate suggests that matches between India and Pakistan can generate as much as one billion viewers.

cricket: a Pakistani national unifier

A month after the attack on the Sri Lankan team, the International Cricket Council relieved Pakistan of co-hosting duty for any 2011 World Cup games, a move that the PCB said cost it over $10 million. In December, just after the anniversary of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and nine months after the cricket attack, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt revealed that the cancellation of India's 2009 tour to Pakistan brought more than $47 million in losses. This included $40 million for TV rights, $5 million from sponsorship rights, and $2 million from gate money. Overall, Pakistan has evidently lost more than $125 million as other national teams have refused to tour. Almost a year since the attacks, the economic cost of cricket terrorism has likely grown beyond lost profits. Jobs may have been lost in the lucrative cricket industry.

Cricket terrorism has also hurt the identity of a country that has so often been unified only by the sport. Farzana Shaikh's book, Making Sense of Pakistan, (2009, C Hurst & Co. Publishers) addresses the issue of Pakistan's confused identity and complicated relationship with Islam. Perhaps on some level, cricket has acted as a positive national unifier in a country that has so often struggled to unite on other issues—politics, economics, religion, and the very notion of what it means to be "Pakistani."

In May 2009, Pakistan was at a low point following the Taliban's violent takeover of Swat, a district in the North West Frontier Province, leading to the country's worst refugee crisis in six decades. Weeks later, in June, Pakistan's World Twenty20 Cricket win at Lords in London—its first world title victory since 1992—came as a welcome, euphoric reprieve. In Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, there were elaborate fireworks. Thousands of young men celebrated in the streets, chanting "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long Live Pakistan"), despite the country's disarray. Love of cricket appeared to cut across social classes, ethnicities, religious sects, political parties, and all issues of contention. We seemed united as Pakistanis.