Saturday, March 29, 2025
Pakistan Launches Airstrikes Inside Afghanistan; 10 Killed Including Three Cricketers
Date: Saturday, October 18, 2025
In a major escalation of cross-border tensions, Pakistan carried out late-night airstrikes inside Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 10 people, including three local cricketers, and injuring 12 others, Afghan officials confirmed. The strikes reportedly violated a 48-hour ceasefire agreement that had briefly paused ongoing clashes along the border.
According to a Taliban official, Pakistani jets bombed three locations in Paktika province, killing civilians, including two children. The official added that Afghanistan would retaliate for what it called an “unprovoked act of aggression.”
Among the dead were three Afghan cricketers who had been in the province to participate in a regional tournament. In the aftermath of the attack, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its decision to withdraw from the upcoming triangular T20 series with Pakistan, which was scheduled for next month.
Pakistani security officials stated that the “precision strikes” targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a militant faction affiliated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad alleged that the group was responsible for a recent suicide bombing and gun attack on a Pakistani military camp in North Waziristan, which killed seven paramilitary soldiers.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sharply deteriorated over security concerns in recent months. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring TTP militants on Afghan soil — an allegation the Taliban government strongly denies.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif went further, accusing the Taliban regime of acting as a proxy for India and conspiring against Pakistan’s internal security.
Violence along the Durand Line — the disputed border between the two nations — has intensified since last Saturday, with both sides blaming each other for repeated ceasefire violations.
The latest airstrikes are likely to further strain already fragile ties between the two neighbors, raising fears of a broader regional conflict if retaliatory action follows.
