Afghanistan Cricket Board Mourns 3 Players Killed, Pulls Out Of Tournament With Pakistan | World News
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Saturday announced its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series with Pakistan due to the unfortunate death of three Afghan cricketers in Pakistan’s recent airstrike.
The board expressed “deep sadness and sorrow” over the deaths of the players, who were among the eight players killed in the attack in Pistika province.
Cricketers Killed in Pktika Province
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In a statement published on X, ACB confirmed that Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon were killed by cricketers along with five other citizens at a local party in Urgun district.
According to the information obtained, 7 people were injured in the attack.
The board described the attack allegedly carried out by the Pakistani regime as “cowardly”.
ACB said the players had just returned home to Urgun from a trip to the state capital Sharana to play a friendly cricket match. The board described the loss as “a huge loss to Afghanistan’s sports community and cricket fraternity”.
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In a reaction to the massacres and “as a mark of respect for the victims”, the ACB said it would not play in the Tri-Nation T20I Series, which will include Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in late November.
Air strikes violated ceasefire
The bloody raids, which reportedly hit homes in Urgun and Barmal districts of Pktika province, took place on Friday in violation of a recently reached ceasefire agreement between the two neighbours.
The raids were carried out following a tenuous ceasefire following intensified cross-border clashes in recent days. The 48-hour ceasefire, which started at 18:00 on Wednesday, was recently extended at the behest of Pakistan until the end of the current talks in Doha in order to reduce tensions.
Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Afghan Taliban regime, also confirmed that Afghan troops had been ordered to abide by the ceasefire “as long as no attack occurs”. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also hoped that both sides would “make sincere efforts to achieve a positive outcome” during the ceasefire.
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