Afghanistan withdraws from cricket series after saying Pakistan airstrike killed local players

Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after three players at a local tournament were killed in an airstrike, the national cricket body has announced.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced it will withdraw from November’s tri-national T20 series out of respect for the dead, who it said were “targeted” in an “attack carried out by the Pakistani regime” on Friday. All three have not played for the national team.

The strike hit a house in the Urgon district of Paktika province where players were dining after a match, witnesses and local officials told the BBC.

Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike hit militants and denied targeting civilians.

The ACB named the three slain players as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths “a great loss to the Afghan sports community, its athletes and the cricket family.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was “deeply saddened and dismayed” by the “tragic death of three promising young Afghan cricketers” in an airstrike which also “cost the lives of several civilians”.

“The ICC stands in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and echoes their grief,” it said in a statement, adding that it “strongly condemns this act of violence.”

The attack came hours after a temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan expired, following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two countries. Dozens of casualties have been reported.

Pakistan said it targeted Afghan militants in the airstrike and at least 70 fighters were killed.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians were “false and intended to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan.”

In a social media post, Afghan national team captain Rashid Khan paid tribute to the “aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage”.

Other players from the Afghan national team joined the tributes, including Fazalhaq Farooqi, who called the attack a “heinous and unforgivable crime”.

On Saturday, large crowds gathered to attend the funerals of strike victims.

The strike comes after Pakistani officials said seven soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing near the Afghan border on Friday.

The 48-hour truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which began at 1300 GMT on Wednesday, has reportedly been extended to allow for negotiations.

An Afghan delegation arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday for peace talks with the Pakistani side.

The Taliban government said it would participate in the talks despite “Pakistani aggression”, which it said was an attempt by Islamabad to prolong the conflict.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan should “reconsider its policies and pursue friendly and civilized relations” with Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Defense Minister Khawaja Asif will lead the country’s delegation to Doha.

He said the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability to the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Zimbabwe will now replace Afghanistan in the T20 series.