At least 400 people were killed and nearly 250 injured after an airstrike carried out by Pakistan struck a drug rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul late Monday night.Authorities in Kabul said the strike hit a large rehabilitation facility around 9 pm local time and destroyed significant portions of the 2,000-bed complex, sparking massive fires and leaving rescue workers scrambling through the rubble for survivors.
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The strike was reportedly carried out under the code name Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, according to security sources. Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of striking the hospital. Islamabad insists its forces conducted precision airstrikes against militant infrastructure and military installations linked to groups it says are responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.Here are 10 things to know about the latest escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan:
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Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of striking hospital in Kabul
Afghanistan’s Taliban administration said the airstrike struck a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing hundreds of people, many of whom were patients undergoing treatment at the facility.Deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the attack caused widespread destruction across the complex and that the number of casualties continued to rise as rescue teams searched through the debris. He said that rescue operations are currently under way. Videos circulating on social media and local television showed plumes of smoke rising from the complex as rescue teams carried out operations.Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, describing it as a violation of humanitarian principles and accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian sites.Also Read | 400 killed, 250 wounded in Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul hospital, claim Taliban He said those killed and injured were mostly patients receiving treatment at the hospital and called the incident a “crime against humanity”.“We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity,” he wrote in a post on X.
Pakistan dismisses allegations of civilian casualties
Pakistan has denied targeting any civilian facility in Kabul, saying the airstrikes were aimed at militant infrastructure used by groups carrying out cross-border attacks against Pakistani forces and civilians, according to Dawn newspaper.Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the military conducted “precision airstrikes” on technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities located in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan.Also Read | Watch: Flames, huge smoke columns seen after Pakistan airstrike on Kabul hospital that killed 400“All targeting has been done with precision only at those infrastructures which are being used by Afghan Taliban regime to support its multiple terror proxies,” he wrote in a post on X.According to Pakistani officials, the targeted sites were being used by militant networks allegedly supported by the Afghan Taliban to plan attacks against Pakistan.
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Meanwhile, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mosharraf Zaidi, dismissed the allegations as baseless and said no hospital was targeted in Kabul.Authorities in Islamabad also insisted the strikes were carefully planned to avoid civilian casualties and accused the Taliban administration of spreading misinformation to deflect attention from its alleged support for militant groups operating near the border, according to AFP.
Operation Ghazab lil-Haq behind the latest strikes
Security sources in Pakistan said the attacks were carried out as part of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, launched in late February after what Islamabad described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban fighters from across the border.According to Pakistani officials, the operation has involved coordinated airstrikes targeting logistical infrastructure, drone assembly workshops and weapons storage facilities linked to militant groups.
During Monday night’s strikes, Pakistani forces reportedly targeted multiple sites in Kabul as well as in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan.Security sources said several military installations and technical support facilities used by militants were destroyed in the operation, while drone assembly workshops and weapon stockpiles were also hit, according to Dawn.
Cross-border clashes enter third week
The latest strike came hours after Afghan officials said both countries exchanged fire along their shared border, killing at least four people in Afghanistan.The clashes are part of a broader conflict that began on February 26 and has steadily intensified over the past three weeks.The confrontation began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes that Kabul said had killed civilians inside Afghanistan. The clashes also disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar last year following earlier fighting between the two sides.Since then, both countries have exchanged artillery fire, airstrikes and drone attacks along the border, raising fears of a wider confrontation between the neighbouring nations.
Conflicting claims over casualties and attacks
Pakistan and Afghanistan have released sharply different casualty figures during the ongoing conflict.Pakistani officials say their forces have killed hundreds of Afghan Taliban fighters during recent operations. Afghan authorities, however, dispute those numbers and claim Pakistani forces have suffered heavy losses.Pakistan’s leadership has also accused the Taliban administration of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghan territory.Officials in Islamabad say these groups, particularly the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, have carried out repeated attacks inside Pakistan targeting security forces and civilians.
Pakistan says Taliban crossed a ‘red line’
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of crossing a ‘red line’ by deploying drones that injured several civilians inside Pakistan last week.Islamabad says these attacks prompted further military operations targeting militant infrastructure across the border.Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintains that it does not allow any group to use Afghan territory to launch attacks against other countries.
Pakistan rejects Taliban claims as ‘misreporting of facts’
Pakistan’s information ministry also dismissed claims that a drug rehabilitation hospital had been targeted.“The claim of this discredited so-called spokesperson of the Taliban regime is another misreporting of facts aimed at misleading public opinion,” the ministry said in a post on X.It added: “On the night of March 16, Pakistan precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban and Fitna al Khawarij in Kabul and Nangarhar that were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians. Post-strike detonation of stored ammunition being used by the master terror proxy also fully contradicts the fake claim.” “Pakistan’s targeting is precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted. This misreporting of facts seeks to stir sentiments, covering illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism. The statement is rejected as being false and misleading.”
Pakistan denies rejecting China’s mediation offer
Pakistan’s foreign office also dismissed reports that it had declined China’s mediation efforts aimed at easing tensions with Afghanistan.Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said such claims were baseless.“Pakistan and China remain trusted partners and close friends, and both maintain regular and close communication on all issues of mutual concern and shared interest.“Therefore, any unnecessary speculation or fabrication of facts in this regard is unwarranted,” he said.China urges both sides to return to negotiationsChina has called on both countries to avoid further escalation and resume dialogue.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said preventing the conflict from widening was the most urgent priority.“The most urgent task is to avoid the expansion of the war and return the two countries to the negotiating table as soon as possible,” he said.“China is willing to continue to make efforts to achieve reconciliation and ease relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added.
Security concerns rise across the region
The escalating conflict has raised concerns internationally as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region has historically been a hub for militant activity.The United Nations Security Council recently called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to intensify efforts to combat terrorism and condemned terrorist activity across the region.The council also extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan for three months as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.International Human Rights Foundation also condemned the strike. In a statement issued, the organisation called for an ‘independent investigation’ into the incident. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, at least two people were abducted and later killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, according to Dawn.
