The cricket board of Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of killing its three local cricketers during an airstrike on Friday night in Afghanistan’s Paktika region. Pakistan conducted the precision airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika region targeting the Gul Bahadur Group.
The precision air strike by the Pakistan Air Force was conducted following a terrorist attack, a suicide terror attack in Pakistan’s Bannu region. Islamabad’s air strike on its neighbour killed at least 10 people and broke a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border.
The 48-hour truce paused nearly a week of bloody border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians on both sides.
Afghan Cricket Board, in its official statement on its X, said that the local cricketers from Paktika province were targeted this evening in an attack carried out by Pakistan. The three players, identified as Kabir, Sighatullah, and Haroon, alongside five other people, were killed, and seven others were injured.
We are deeply saddened by the cowardly military attack in Argun, Paktika, that martyred innocent civilians and fellow cricketers. This brutal act by the Pakistani army is an assault on our people, pride, and independence.but it will never break the Afghan spirit.
— Gulbadin Naib (@GbNaib) October 17, 2025
The players had earlier travelled to Shahrana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering. In response to this incident, the Afghan Cricket Board has decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming tri-nation T20I series involving Pakistan, which is scheduled to be held in late November.
Moreover, Afghan cricketers, including Rashad Khan and Gulbadin Naib, among others, have expressed condolences on the passing away of these local players.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of civilian lives in the recent Pakistani aerial strikes on Afghanistan. A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage.
It is absolutely immoral and…
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) October 17, 2025
“Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika province, a senior Taliban official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Afghanistan will retaliate.”
Ten civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in the strikes, a provincial hospital official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that two children were among the dead.
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In Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP that forces had “conducted precision aerial strikes” in Afghan border areas targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — the Pakistani Taliban.
Statement of Condolence
The Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its deepest sorrow and grief over the tragic martyrdom of the brave cricketers from Urgun District in Paktika Province, who were targeted this evening in a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime.
In… pic.twitter.com/YkenImtuVR
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 17, 2025
Islamabad said that the same group had been involved in a suicide bombing and gun attack at a military camp in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan, which left seven Pakistani paramilitary troops dead on Friday.
Security issues are at the heart of the tensions, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — the Pakistani Taliban — on its soil, a claim Kabul denies.
The cross-border violence had escalated dramatically since Saturday, days after explosions rocked the Afghan capital Kabul, just as the Taliban’s foreign minister began an unprecedented visit to India, Pakistan’s longtime rival.
The Taliban then launched an offensive along parts of its southern border with Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to vow a strong response of its own.
When the truce began at 1300 GMT on Wednesday, Islamabad said that it was to last 48 hours, but Kabul said the ceasefire would remain in effect until Pakistan violated it.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Kabul of acting as “a proxy of India” and “plotting” against Pakistan.
“From now on, demarches will no longer be framed as appeals for peace, and delegations will not be sent to Kabul,” Asif wrote in a post on X.
“Wherever the source of terrorism is, it will have to pay a heavy price.”
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said its forces had been ordered not to attack unless Pakistani forces fired first.
“‘If they do, then you have every right to defend your country'”, he said in an interview with the Afghan television channel Ariana, relaying the message sent to the troops.
Before the latest strikes, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 37 people were killed and 425 wounded on the Afghan side of the border, calling on both sides to bring a lasting end to hostilities.
In Spin Boldak, the scene of intense fighting, hundreds of people attended funerals on Thursday, including for children whose bodies were wrapped in white shrouds.
“People have mixed feelings,” Nematullah, 42, told AFP. “They fear that the fighting will resume, but they still leave their homes and go about their business.”
But on Friday, residents described scenes of normalcy.
“Everything is fine, everything is open,” Nani, 35, told AFP.
“I’m not afraid, but everyone sees things differently. Some say they’re going to send their children elsewhere as the situation isn’t good, but I don’t think anything will happen,” said Nani, who did not give a surname.
Calm had also returned to Kabul, where new explosions rang out shortly before the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the blasts, but Pakistani security sources said they had undertaken “precision strikes” against an armed group in the Afghan capital.
With Additional Inputs from GVS South Asia Desk