Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 10 persons and breaking a temporary ceasefire that the two countries had agreed to amid clashes along their border, AFP reported.

A ceasefire had been reached on Wednesday after nearly a week of border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians on both sides.

When the truce began on Wednesday, Islamabad said that it was to last 48 hours, but Kabul said the ceasefire would remain in effect until Pakistan violated it, AFP reported.

On Friday, AFP quoted an unidentified official from the Taliban administration as saying that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika province.

“Afghanistan will retaliate,” the official was quoted as saying.

Ten civilians, including two children, were killed and 12 others wounded in the Pakistani strikes, another official from the hospital in the province told the news agency.

Among the dead in Paktika were three domestic Afghan cricketers: Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board confirmed the deaths on social media, saying the players had earlier travelled to Sharana, Paktika’s capital, for a friendly match.

“After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” the statement said.

“The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community and the cricketing family,” it added.

The board also announced it would withdraw from the upcoming tri-nation T20 tournament that included Pakistan, scheduled for November.

The violence between the two neighbours had flared since explosions in Afghanistan on October 9, which Kabul blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan has not claimed responsibility for the explosions.

The initial ceasefire agreed upon on Wednesday had brought a brief halt to the deadliest fighting between the neighbours since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the United States forces.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or the Pakistani Taliban, on its soil. However, Kabul denies this claim.

Peace talks in Doha

The escalation came as Afghanistan and Pakistan prepared to hold peace talks in Doha on Saturday, Reuters reported.

“As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha,” Reuters quoted Zabihullah Mujahid as saying.

He added that a high-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, had left for Doha for the meeting.

Pakistan’s state television also confirmed the talks, saying Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik would head to Doha for discussions with the Afghan Taliban, AFP reported.

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