(MENAFN) Overnight airstrikes by Pakistan have resulted in the deaths of five people in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, including three cricket players, according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

The attacks came shortly after the two neighboring countries had agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday and were invited to Doha to discuss a permanent truce and broader bilateral concerns.

“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 board stated on X. “The players had earlier traveled 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.”

Following the incident, the board announced it would withdraw from a tournament scheduled for late November that was set to involve Pakistan.

Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan expressed his grief on X, writing he is “deeply saddened” by the strikes. “A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has not officially commented on the claims. Reports indicate that Islamabad targeted what it described as “terrorist hideouts” in Afghanistan on Friday, conducting precision strikes that killed dozens of fighters. The strikes reportedly followed a gun-and-bomb assault on a military installation in North Waziristan and occurred just hours after the two countries extended their brief ceasefire.

Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad described Qatar as an “honest broker” in the peace process but questioned whether Pakistan is a “honest neighbor.” He highlighted the hardships faced by Afghans, noting that “Pakistan has already heartlessly and abruptly expelled over a million Afghan refugees, which the country is struggling to absorb.” He added, “Is it so intolerable to them that a neighbor they have been trying to dominate and suppress for decade might finally enjoy a bit of peace and normalcy?”

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