Afghanistan says Pakistan airstrike killed 400 in Kabul hospital; Islamabad denies, calls claims false amid border tensions. Photo: Gemini.
Afghanistan on Tuesday claimed that a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre killed 400 people in the capital city, Kabul. According to reports, Pakistan carried out an airstrike in Kabul on Monday evening at around 9:00 pm. The strike triggered panic in Kabul as people were out for the Iftar (breaking fast) on the auspicious day of Shab-e-Qadr.
According to reports, citing Afghanistan Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman, the Kabul drug rehabilitation center has been destroyed in the airstrikes.
Two neighbours have been caught in months of conflict after Islamabad accused the Taliban regime in Afghanistan of supporting terror groups to carry out attacks in Pakistan. Forces of both countries have been exchanging fire on the border – Durand line – killing several people on both sides.
After the Taliban accused Pakistan of killing patients in a hospital, Islamabad reacted quickly rejecting the allegations. Pakistan called the charges “false and misleading.”
Reports quoting Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said that Islamabad denied hitting any civilian infrastructure and claimed it had carried out strikes on ‘terrorism-supporting military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime.
According to observers close to Pakistan, its air forces carried out a strike targeting an ammo depot in the city. The pro-Pakistan military observers claim that the drug rehabilitation center has been situated close to an ammunition centre, catching fire in secondary blasts.
Pakistan named its operation as Ghazab Lil Haq.
Reports from Afghanistan, citing eyewitnesses, say that Pakistan bombed the hospital in Kabul when people were completing their prayers. One eyewitness said that the bobs hit the rooms and patients’ area, according to a report by Reuters.
“The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday,” said Ahmad, 50, who said he was under treatment at the facility and gave only his first name. “My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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