Pakistan launched an airstrike in Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people and violating a ceasefire that had brought two days of relative calm along the border after a period of intense bloodshed. The 48-hour ceasefire halted nearly a week of bloody border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides.
- Pakistan has violated the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika province" on Friday night, a senior Taliban official told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity. " (Afghanistan will retaliate).
Ten civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in the attack, a provincial hospital official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that two children were among the dead. In a statement released after the attack, an Afghan government spokesman said officials from both countries would hold crisis talks in Doha on Saturday. (As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha), Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
A high-level Afghan delegation, led by Defense Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, has departed for Doha, he said. Meanwhile, Pakistani state TV reported that Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik would head to Doha on Saturday for talks with the Afghan Taliban. Earlier on Saturday, the Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement that three players in the region for a tournament were killed in the latest airstrike along with five others "in a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime," and said seven others were wounded.
- The ACB said in a social media post on Saturday that the cricketers were "targeted during a gathering" in Urgun district as they were returning home after playing a friendly cricket match in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province.
The ACB considers this a great loss to the Afghan sports community, its athletes and the cricket family," the ACB said, as reported by Al Jazeera. The ACB also announced it would withdraw from the upcoming T20I Tri-Nation Series involving Pakistan, scheduled for next month. In Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP that troops had "conducted precision airstrikes" in the Afghan border region targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction linked to the Pakistani Taliban, "TTP"
Islamabad said the same group was involved in a suicide bombing and shooting attack on a military camp in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas district bordering Afghanistan, killing seven Pakistani paramilitary soldiers. Security issues are at the heart of the tensions, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harboring armed groups led by the Pakistani Taliban, known by its acronym TTP, on its territory, a claim Kabul denies. Cross-border violence has escalated dramatically since last Saturday, days after an explosion rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, just as the Taliban foreign minister began an unprecedented visit to India, Pakistan's longtime rival.
- The Taliban then launched attacks along parts of its southern border with Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to say it would launch a strong response.
When the ceasefire began at 13:00 GMT on Wednesday, Islamabad said it would last for 48 hours, but Kabul said it would remain in effect until Pakistan violated it. Before the latest attacks, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 37 people had been killed and 425 wounded on the Afghan side of the border, calling on both sides to seek a permanent end to hostilities. In Spin Boldak, the site of fierce fighting, hundreds of people attended funerals on Thursday, including those of children whose bodies were wrapped in white shrouds. "People have mixed feelings," Nematullah, 42, told AFP. "They are worried that the fighting will continue, but they still leave their homes and continue with their activities.
But earlier on Friday, residents described a normal atmosphere. "Everything is fine, everything is open," Nani, 35, told AFP. "I'm not afraid, but everyone has a different view. Some say they will send their children elsewhere because the situation is not good, but I don't think anything will happen," said Nani, who did not give her last name.
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