Sri Lanka to seek Pakistan help to trace Easter Sunday terrorists if needed

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said if necessary, his country will seek Pakistan’s help to trace and eliminate the terrorists behind the Easter Sunday bombings which killed hundreds of people.

In an interview with Indian news webiste Hindustan Times, the premier of the island country said, “Pakistan has fully supported Sri Lanka’s war on terror. If necessary, we will seek their help to trace the terrorists and eliminate them.”

Referring to devastating series of blasts, he said, “I see this tragic event as further strengthening the trust that exists between our countries [Pakistan and Sri Lanka] and increasing cooperation.”

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe asserted that although Sri Lanka is investigating the possibility of foreign links in the attack, there is no evidence yet to suggest that any particular country has backed the terrorists involved in the string of bombings that left approximately 250 people dead.

“All the countries in our region are faced with the same threats […] Even the best of defences can sometimes be breached by ruthless terrorists, as we have seen time and again, all over the world. Our intelligence has worked with their counterparts [foreign intelligence agencies] abroad. But this is the first time that global terrorism has struck Sri Lanka.

This is a new experience for us and we will work with our international allies to apprehend all the perpetrators,” he vowed in a written interview given via email.