Afghanistan says 400 killed after Pakistani airstrike hits Kabul hospital

Afghanistan on Tuesday accused Pakistan of carrying out an airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul that killed at least 400 persons and injured several others, as cross-border clashes between the neighbouring countries intensified.

Pakistan refuted the allegation, saying that it only targeted “military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul and the province of Nangarhar on Monday.

The strike hit the Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul around 9pm local time on Monday, the deputy spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Taliban government Hamdullah Fitrat claimed.

It came hours after Afghan officials said that the two sides had exchanged fire along their common border, with four persons killed in Afghanistan, as the deadliest fighting between the neighbours in years entered a third week, AP reported.

Fitrat said that the hospital, which has around 2,000 beds, was treating thousands of patients at the time of the attack, he said. He added that large sections of the buildings were destroyed, injuring around 250 persons.

Footage shared by local television stations showed firefighters attempting to extinguish flames while emergency crew carried casualties from the damaged building.

Condemning the attack, the spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid said that it was an act “against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity”.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, however, said that its military had only targeted establishments that were being “used against innocent Pakistani civilians”.

It accused Afghanistan of misreporting facts to “mislead public opinion” and conceal its “illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism”.

Relations between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan have worsened in recent months following border skirmishes in October that killed more than 70 persons on both sides. Their land border has remained largely closed since the clashes.

Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of not acting against militant groups that allegedly operate in its territory and carry out attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban has denied the claims.

Several rounds of negotiations, mediated mainly by Qatar, after an initial ceasefire have not led to lasting peace.

‘Cowardly act of violence,’ says India

Describing it as “a cowardly and unconscionable act of violence”, India on Tuesday condemned Pakistan for carrying out the “barbaric airstrike”.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that attacking a civilian target is “by no means…justified” and that Pakistan was “trying to dress up a massacre as a military operation”.

“This heinous act of aggression by Pakistan is also a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability,” the ministry stated. “It reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and its repeated attempts to externalise internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence beyond its borders.”

New Delhi also called on the international community to “hold the perpetrators of this criminal act accountable”.

“India extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, wishes a swift recovery to those injured, and stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan in this tragic moment,” it added. “We also reiterate our unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.”

Also read: Explained: The fragile truce between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban