Even as Afghanistan and Pakistan extended the fragile truce till the conclusion of talks in Doha, the Afghan side on Friday claimed fresh Pakistani strikes in its territory, accusing Pakistan of violating ceasefire.
Three local Afghan cricketers from the Urgun District in Paktika Province were killed, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) claimed. The players had returned after a friendly match in Sharana.
At least 10 people were killed in the fresh strikes in Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials, who claimed that Pakistan bombed three locations in Paktika province.
Afghanistan withdraw from Tri-Nation T20I series
Expressing grief over the killings of the cricketers, the ACB on Saturday announced its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series involving Pakistan.
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“In this heartbreaking incident, three players (Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon), alongside 5 other fellow countrymen from Urgun District, were martyred, and seven others were injured. The players had earlier travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” ACB said in its statement.
However, Reuters quoted Sayed Naseem Sadaat, the ACB spokesman, as saying that the strike killed eight local cricketers.
Doha talks amid truce extension
The two sides reportedly agreed to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until the conclusion of talks in Doha. While a Pakistani delegation had already arrived in Doha, an Afghan delegation is expected to reach the Doha on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The extension of the ceasefire came hours after a deadly suicide attack near the Afghan border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13 others.
Pakistan said that a militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the boundary wall and two others tried to storm the facility before being shot dead in North Waziristan district. Six militants were killed in the assault, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Later in the day, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Ariana News, a Pashto language local television news channel, that Kabul had instructed its forces to maintain a ceasefire as long as Pakistan refrained from any attack.
Within hours of the truce extension, a police spokesman Mohammad Ismail Mawia in Afghanistan’s Paktika province said Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Barmal and Urgun districts in which the cricketers were reportedly killed.
Reuters also quoted a Pakistani security officials saying that the ceasefire was struck with the Afghan Taliban, and not with the Islamist militants holed up in Afghanistan, who launch attacks in Pakistan.
Pak-Afghan border clash
The two South Asian neighbors were engaged in border escalations last weekend after Afghanistan launched airstrikes against Pakistan in retaliation to its alleged attack in Afghani capital Kabul that the country blamed the latter for.
While Afghanistan claimed its strikes killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, Pakistan said the toll was 23, adding that it managed to kill more than 200 Taliban and affiliated troops in counterfire. The border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan were also shut on Sunday, October 12, amid tensions.
Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed strong response, the Taliban said it has “other ways to handle the situation if Pakistan does not want to engage in dialogue.” The fighting was halted after Qatar and Saudi Arabia intervened.
However, clashes were reported again on Tuesday night in which dozens of troops as well as civilians were killed. The two countries later agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire, which both said was requested by the other side.
