Rashid Khan condemns Pakistan after air strikes kill three Afghan cricketers: calls attack ‘absolutely immoral and barbaric’
In a tragic incident in Afghanistan on Friday, air raids from Pakistan struck the Afghan civilians directly, causing the deaths of nearly 40 people. Among the victims were also three cricketers from Urgun district in Paktika Province. The Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan, deeply saddened by the incident, lashed out at Pakistan following the killing of three local cricketers in air strikes on civilian areas, describing the attack as “absolutely immoral and barbaric.” His remarks came after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the team’s withdrawal from next month’s tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The ACB’s decision follows a series of Pakistani air strikes along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border that claimed several civilian lives, including the three young players. The tri-series, scheduled to be held in Lahore and Rawalpindi from November 5 to 29, has now been thrown into uncertainty. Rashid also released a statement expressing deep sorrow over the tragedy and solidarity with the victims’ families. The three players killed were identified as Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, while five others also lost their lives in the attack. The fighting, which has claimed dozens of lives on both sides, resulted in a brief 48-hour ceasefire that was later broken after Pakistan launched air strikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, targeting residential areas in the Argun and Bermal districts along the Durand Line. The Taliban denounced the strikes as a breach of the truce, even as delegations from both nations were in Doha for talks aimed at defusing the crisis.
