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Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after it says three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike.
The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November’s tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the three, who did not play for the national team, who it said were “targeted” in an “attack carried out by the Pakistani regime” on Friday evening.
The strike hit a home in Urgon district in eastern Paktika province, where the cricketers were eating dinner together after a match, eyewitnesses and local officials told the BBC.
Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike targeted militants and denied attacking civilians.
The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths “a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family”.
The attack came hours after a temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to expire following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two nations. Dozens of casualties have been reported.
Pakistan said it had targeted Afghan militants in the air strike and that at least 70 combatants had been killed.
Pakistan’s Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians are “false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan”.
On Saturday, large crowds of people were seen gathering at the funeral for the strike’s victims.
In a social media post, Afghan national team captain Rashid Khan paid tribute to the “aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage”.
Other players for the Afghan national side joined the tributes, including Fazalhaq Farooqi who said the attack was a “heinous, unforgivable crime”.
The strike came after Pakistani officials said seven soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan border on Friday.
The 48-hour truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which began on Wednesday at 13:00 GMT, has reportedly been extended to allow for negotiations.
An Afghan delegation arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday for peace talks with the Pakistani side.
The Taliban government said it would take part in the talks despite “Pakistani aggression”, which it says was Islamabad’s attempt to prolong the conflict.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan should “reconsider its policies, and pursue friendly and civilised relations” with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif would lead the country’s delegation in Doha.
It said the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability on the Pakistan-Afghan border.
