‘Heartbreaking’: Pakistan airstrikes kill three Afghan cricketers; ACB withdraws from tri-series

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (AFB) on Saturday, October 18, has confirmed three Afghani domestic cricketers were killed in airstrikes carried out by Pakistan in the Paktika province on Friday. The strikes were carried out by Pakistan in the southeastern region of Afghanistan, just hours after a two-day ceasefire between the both Asian neighbours came to an end. 

The bombings struck southeastern Paktika province and two other areas close to the Pakistan border, and included a strike on a civilian house in Khanadar village that resulted in casualties, police spokesman Mohammadullah Amini Mawia said. He gave no further details, including how the strikes were delivered.

“The Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its deepest sorrow and grief over the tragic martyrdom of the brave cricketers from Urgun District in Paktika Province, who were targeted this evening in a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime,” the AFB said in a statement. 

Terming the incident as “heartbreaking”, the board identified the cricketers as Kabeer Agha, Haroon and Sibghatullah, who were among the 10 people killed during the strikes on Wednesday. 

“The players had earlier traveled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” the AGB said. 

Following the incident, the board has also announced its decision to withdraw from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, scheduled to be played in late November.

Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan condoled the deaths of the three cricketers and called it “absolutely immoral and barbaric” to target civilian infrastructure. “These unjust and unlawful actions represent a grave violation of human rights and must not go unnoticed,” he said.

The strikes in southeastern Afghanistan came hours after Pakistani officials said that a suicide car bomber backed by the Pakistani Taliban attacked a compound of security forces near the border, killing several people in the area. The attack in Mir Ali, a city in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also triggered an intense shootout that left at least six militants and one soldier dead, police said.

The Pakistani Taliban, considered a terrorist organisation by Pakistani officials, is separate from Afghanistan's Taliban but affiliated with it, and Pakistani officials accuse it of operating from bases across the border.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in Mir Ali, local police official Irfan Ali said.

In Kabul, the Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said a Taliban delegation was preparing to leave for Qatar. He said "in general, the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is clear and consistent: we do not seek war with Pakistan or with anyone else".

Pakistan's state-run media on Friday night reported that a high-level Pakistani delegation will travel to Qatar for talks with Afghanistan on Saturday. Pakistan TV gave no further details, however.

In Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan earlier told reporters that he was not in a position to share any information about possible talks with Afghanistan, and that the ministry would issue a statement when any such talks happen.

Ali said Islamabad wants Kabul to keep anyone from using Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan and that Pakistan's recent strikes were only aimed at targeting militant hideouts.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since January, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It has strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul as Pakistan says the group is being sheltered in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's military has carried out multiple operations against militants in the region this week, killing 102 militants, according to security officials and police in the region.

The recent clashes between the two countries were the deadliest since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government as US and NATO forces withdrew after 20 years of war.

Tensions have remained high along the border since last week when Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out a strike in the Afghan capital, a claim Pakistan's government and military have not acknowledged. Pakistani security officials, however, said the strike was aimed at targeting Noor Wali, the head of the Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani Taliban shared a video on Thursday, claiming Wali is alive and in hiding somewhere in northwestern Pakistan.

The growing tension between the two sides is also expected to hit Afghan refugees illegally residing in Pakistan.