Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike, the nation’s cricketing body says.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November’s tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the dead, who it said were “targeted” in an “attack carried out by the Pakistani regime” on Friday. The three did not play for the national team.
The strike hit a home in Urgon district in Paktika province, where the players were eating dinner 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 players who were killed as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths “a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family”.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was “deeply saddened and appalled” by the “tragic deaths of three young and promising Afghan cricketers” in an air strike that also “claimed 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 was due to expire following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two nations. Dozens of casualties have been reported.
Pakistan said it had targeted Afghan militants in the air strike and that at least 70 combatants had been killed.
Pakistan’s Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians are “false and meant 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 for the Afghan national side joined the tributes, including Fazalhaq Farooqi, who said the attack was a “heinous, unforgivable crime”.
On Saturday, large crowds of people were seen gathering at the funeral for the strike’s victims.
The strike 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 13:00 GMT, has reportedly been extended to allow for negotiations.
An Afghan delegation arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday for peace talks with the Pakistani side.
The Taliban government said it would take part in the talks despite “Pakistani aggression”, which it says was Islamabad’s attempt to prolong the conflict.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan should “reconsider its policies, and pursue friendly and civilised relations” with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif would lead the country’s delegation in Doha.
It said the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability on the Pakistan-Afghan border.
Zimbabwe will now replace Afghanistan in the T20 series.
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