Subhechcha Ganguly 
Even as Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to extend their fragile truce until the conclusion of talks in Doha, fresh Pakistani airstrikes on Friday reportedly killed at least ten people in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, including three local cricketers.
According to Taliban officials, Pakistani forces bombed three locations in the Urgun District of Paktika. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the deaths of players Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, who were returning home from a friendly match in Sharana when they were targeted during a local gathering.
Expressing deep grief over the tragedy, the ACB announced on Saturday its decision to withdraw from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series involving Pakistan.
“In this heartbreaking incident, three players and five other citizens from Urgun District were martyred, and seven others injured,” the ACB said in a statement.
The renewed strikes come amid efforts to sustain peace talks in Doha. While Pakistan’s delegation has already reached the Qatari capital, the Afghan team is expected to arrive later on Saturday, according to Reuters.
The escalation follows a deadly suicide bombing near the Afghan border that killed seven Pakistani soldiers and injured 13 others. Pakistan said a militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military facility in North Waziristan, followed by an attempted assault by two others who were shot dead. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office reported that six militants were killed in the operation.
