Afghanistan Cricketers Killed in Pakistani Airstrikes; Kabul Withdraws from Tri-Nation Series

KABUL, October 18:Three Afghan cricketers were killed in Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, prompting the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) to withdraw from next month’s tri-nation T20I series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

In an official statement issued on Friday, the ACB confirmed that the players — identified as Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon — were among eight people killed when Pakistani forces carried out what the board described as “a cowardly attack” in the Urgun district of Paktika.

According to the statement, the players had travelled from Urgun to Sharana, the provincial capital, to participate in a friendly cricket match. “After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” the board said, condemning the incident as an “unprovoked act of aggression by the Pakistani regime.”

The ACB expressed its deepest sorrow over the deaths, calling it “a great loss to Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family.” It extended condolences to the bereaved families and the people of Paktika Province.

“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 official statement read.

“In this heartbreaking incident, three players (Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon), alongside five other fellow countrymen from Urgun District, were martyred, and seven others were injured.”

As a mark of respect to the victims, the ACB announced its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series scheduled for late November.

The board concluded its message with prayers for the deceased:

“May Allah (SWT) grant the martyrs the highest ranks in Jannah, bless the injured with a speedy recovery, and grant their families patience and strength during this time of immense grief.”

Kabul Accuses Pakistan of Violating Truce

Meanwhile, Afghan officials accused Pakistan of breaching a two-day ceasefire by launching late-night airstrikes inside Afghanistan, killing at least ten people.

AFP quoted Afghan authorities as saying the strikes shattered a 48-hour truce that had paused nearly a week of fierce border clashes, which had already claimed dozens of lives on both sides.

In Pakistan, a senior security official confirmed to AFP that the military had carried out “precision aerial strikes” targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.

Islamabad maintained that the group was responsible for a recent suicide bombing and gun attack on a paramilitary camp in North Waziristan, which left seven Pakistani soldiers dead.

The recent hostilities mark the most serious escalation between the two countries since 2021, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces. Tensions have remained high along the border, particularly after Kabul accused Islamabad of conducting an earlier strike in the Afghan capital — an allegation Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied.