In a statement posted on X, the ACB said, "The Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its deepest sorrow and grief over the tragic martyrdom of the brave cricketers from Urgun District in Paktika Province,

Three Afghanistan cricketers were among 40 people killed in Pakistan’s airstrikes on Kandahar’s Spin Boldak district, which hit residential areas. The Afghanistan Cricket Board condemned the attack and announced withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan.

A fragile truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan is set to expire, raising fears of a return to active conflict. Cross-border violence escalated last week, with both sides claiming they were responding to armed provocations from the other.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.66 hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border on Friday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The depth of the earthquake was 10 km, GFZ said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday after airstrikes and ground fighting ramped up tensions between the South Asian neighbours, leaving more than a dozen civilians dead and 100 wounded.

While both Pakistan and Afghanistan have claimed the other blinked first, videos of Taliban fighters displaying trousers, allegedly of Pakistani soldiers who fled their posts, have ensured that Afghanistan is atleast winning the narrative war on social media.