Pakistani airstrike in Paktika province kills three Afghan cricketers & five others

STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
OCTOBER 18 (STC): A Pakistani airstrike in Paktika province has killed three Afghanistani cricketers and five others, reports a cross section of media. Following the attacks, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has snapped cricketing ties with Pakistan.
The reports quoting the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said that the players had travelled from Urgun to Sharana in the eastern Paktika province on the Pakistan border to take part in a friendly match.
The three players killed in the attack have been identified by the ACB as “Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon” and said that five other people were also killed in the attack.
It said that “after returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering” in what it described as “a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime”.
Meanwhile, reports reveal that Afghanistan has pulled out of a tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka next month. “as a gesture of respect to the victims”.
“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.” ABC said in a post on X.
It has also been reported that Afghanistan’s T-20 team captain, Rashid Khan, condemned the recent attacks and welcomed ABC’s decision to withdraw from the friendly series.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of civilian lives in the recent Pakistani aerial strikes on Afghanistan. A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage,” he said in a post on X.
Khan said it was absolutely immoral and barbaric to target civilian infrastructure, and such “unjust and unlawful actions represent a grave violation of human rights and must not go unnoticed.”
According to Afghan media, Pakistan conducted a series of airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on Friday, with Kabul accusing Islamabad of breaching the fragile ceasefire agreement between the two neighbouring countries.
Quoting sources, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported that airstrikes targeted residential areas in the Urgun and Barmal districts of the country, causing significant civilian casualties.
The deadly strikes come amid a 48-hour ceasefire agreement between the two nations following days of intense cross-border clashes.
Earlier, Pakistan had called for an extension of the ceasefire until the end of the ongoing Doha negotiations aimed at easing tensions and preventing cross-border violence. Kabul has reportedly agreed to the proposal, extending the truce until the conclusion of the ongoing talks in Doha. Negotiations between the two sides are set to begin today, reports cross section of media.
(Inputs from Agencies / Straight Talk Communications)