At least 40 people, including three cricketers from Afghanistan, have been reported killed in Pakistani airstrikes. At least 179 people were injured. According to Karimullah Zubair Agha, chief health officer of Spin Boldak, Afghan media TOLO News said that all the dead and injured were civilians, and many of them were women and children.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has withdrawn its name from the upcoming Tri-Nation series to be held in Pakistan.
After the conflict on the border from 11 October to 14 October, the armies of two neighboring countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, went on a 48-hour ceasefire from 15 October. That ceasefire expires on Friday 17 October at 1pm local time.
Pakistan carried out the attack within hours of the break. All those who survived condemned the attack.
Haji Bahram, a victim of the attack, told TOLO News, “I have never seen such injustice in history. A country, which claims to be Muslim, has attacked women, children, and civilians here.”
In addition to the air force operation, the Pakistani ground forces fired artillery shells one after the other in Nokli, Haji Hasan Kelai, Wardak, Kuchiyan, Shaheed, and Shorbak areas of Spin Boldak city. Many houses and shops were destroyed and many people were injured.
The Tri-nation T20 series against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka was scheduled to take place in Pakistan in November. The matches were scheduled to be held from 17 to 29 November in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
At least 40 people, including three local cricketers, were killed in a cross-border attack in Urgun district of Afghanistan’s Paktika province, ACB said in a statement on Saturday. The slain cricketers were attacked on their way home after playing a friendly match in Sharana town. They are Kabir, Sibgatullah, and Haroon.
ACB said in a statement published on their X account, “Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its deep grief and condolences to the tragic martyrdom of the brave cricketers of Urgun district of Paktika provincewho became the target of the cowardly attack by the Pakistani regime this (Friday) evening.”
This is a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, athletes, and cricket family. We pay tribute to the victims of the upcoming Tri-Nation has decided to withdraw from the T20 series.
