ISLAMABAD — The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said late Friday it will not play in a T20 tri-nation series in Pakistan after reporting that three cricketers and five other people were killed in a strike in Paktika province. The ACB named the players as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon.
The board said the players had gone to Sharana for a friendly match. Seven other people were injured. The ACB called the deaths a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community and said it will withdraw from the series set to be held in Pakistan from November 17 to 29. Sri Lanka had been the third team in the event.
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There was no immediate official comment from Pakistan’s government or military. But security sources said Pakistan again targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan, including in the Angoor Adda area and Urgun and Barmal districts of Paktika. The strikes were said to hit bases of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
The attacks came after a daring gun-and-bomb raid on a military camp in North Waziristan. That raid, and other recent clashes, followed border skirmishes on October 11 that left many dead on both sides. A temporary 48-hour ceasefire was later agreed and then extended, while talks are expected soon in Doha.
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Pakistan says the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shelter in Afghanistan and wants Kabul to stop them. Afghanistan and India deny supporting attacks on Pakistan. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned this week that Pakistan will stop sending protest notes and delegations to Kabul, and said those behind terrorism will “pay a heavy price.”
Afghan cricket star Rashid Khan supported the ACB decision to withdraw from the Pakistan fixtures. The move is another sign of how growing security tensions are affecting sport and diplomacy in the region.