Afghanistan withdraws from the cricket series after saying a Pakistani airstrike killed local players

Afghanistan will no longer participate in the upcoming cricket tournament after three players in a local tournament were killed in an airstrike, the Afghanistan Cricket Federation said.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from the T20 tri-series in November out of respect for those killed, who it said were “targeted” in an “attack carried out by the Pakistani regime” on Friday. All three did not play for the national team.

Witnesses and local officials told the BBC that the strike hit a house in the Orgun district of Paktika province, where the players were having dinner after the match.

The ACB said eight people were killed. Pakistan said the strike hit militants and denied targeting civilians.

The Asian Football Confederation named the three players killed as Kabir Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon, and described their deaths as a “huge loss to the Afghan sports community, athletes and cricket family.”

The International Cricket Council said it was “deeply saddened and dismayed” by the “tragic death of three promising young Afghan cricketers” in an air strike that “claimed the lives of numerous 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 the end of the temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, after days of bloody clashes on the border between the two countries. Dozens of casualties were reported.

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

Pakistani Information Minister Atallah Tarar said that allegations that the attack targeted civilians were “false and aimed at mobilizing support for terrorist groups operating from within Afghanistan.”

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

Other players from the Afghan national team joined in the tributes, including Fazlul Haq Farooqi, who said the attack was a “heinous and unforgivable crime.”

On Saturday, large crowds of people were seen gathering at the funeral of the strike victims.

The attack came after Pakistani officials said seven soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan border on Friday.

The 48-hour truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which began on Wednesday at 1:00 GMT, has reportedly been extended to allow negotiations to take place.

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

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

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

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Defense Minister Khawaja Asif will head the country’s delegation in Doha.

She added that the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.