The airstrike killed at least 400 people and injured nearly 250 Pakistan A drug rehabilitation hospital in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul was attacked late Monday night.Authorities in Kabul said the attack hit a large rehabilitation facility around 9pm local time, destroying much of the 2,000-bed complex and sparking fires as rescuers struggled to search for survivors in the rubble.The attack was codenamed “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq,” according to security sources. Afghan officials blamed Pakistan for the attack on the hospital. Islamabad insists its forces carried out precision airstrikes against militant infrastructure and military installations linked to groups it said were responsible for attacks in Pakistan.Here are ten things to know about the latest escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan:
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Afghanistan blames Pakistan for attack on Kabul hospital
afghanistan Taliban The government said airstrikes hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing hundreds of people, many of them patients being treated at the facility.Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the attack caused widespread damage throughout the complex and the casualty count continued to rise as rescue teams combed through the rubble. He said that rescue work is currently underway. Videos circulating on social media and local television showed thick smoke billowing from the building as rescue teams carried out operations.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, calling it a violation of humanitarian principles and accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian sites.ALSO READ | Taliban claims Pakistani airstrike on Kabul hospital kills 400, injures 250 He said most of the dead and injured were patients receiving treatment in hospitals, calling the incident a “crime against humanity.”“We strongly condemn this crime and consider it a violation of all recognized principles and a crime against humanity,” he wrote in a post on X.
Pakistan rejects accusations of civilian casualties
Pakistan denied targeting any civilian facilities in Kabul, saying the airstrikes targeted infrastructure used by armed groups that carry out cross-border attacks against Pakistani troops and civilians, Dawn reported.Pakistan’s Information Minister Atala Talal said the military carried out “precision air strikes” on technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan.ALSO READ | WATCH: Flames and huge plume of smoke seen after Pakistani airstrike on Kabul hospital, killing 400“All were targeted precisely at infrastructure used by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to support its multiple terrorist proxies,” he wrote in a post on X.The targeted websites were used by militant networks allegedly backed by the Afghan Taliban to plan attacks against Pakistan, according to Pakistani officials.
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Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Shehbaz SharifMosharraf Zaidi dismissed the accusations as baseless and said no hospital in Kabul had been targeted.Authorities in Islamabad also insisted the attack was carefully planned to avoid civilian casualties and accused the Taliban government of spreading misinformation to divert attention from its alleged support for militant groups near the border, AFP reported.
Operation ‘Ghazab lil-Haq’ behind latest attack
Pakistani security sources said the attacks were part of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which was launched in late February after Islamabad said Afghan Taliban militants opened fire unprovoked from across the border.According to Pakistani officials, the operation involved coordinated air strikes on logistics infrastructure, drone assembly workshops and weapons storage facilities linked to armed groups.
In Monday night’s attack, Pakistani troops reportedly targeted Kabul and multiple locations in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.According to Dawn newspaper, security sources said that multiple military installations and technical support facilities used by the militants were destroyed during the operation, and drone assembly workshops and weapons stockpiles were also attacked.
Cross-border conflict enters third week
The latest attack came hours after Afghan officials said the two countries exchanged gunfire along their shared border, killing at least four people in Afghanistan.The clashes are part of a wider conflict that began on February 26 and has intensified over the past three weeks.The confrontation began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes that Kabul said killed civilians in Afghanistan. The clashes also disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar after fighting last year between the two sides.The two countries have since carried out artillery fire, airstrikes and drone strikes along the border, raising concerns about a wider confrontation between the neighbors.
Conflicting accounts of casualties and attack
Pakistan and Afghanistan have posted very different casualty figures in their ongoing conflicts.Pakistani officials say their forces have killed hundreds of Afghan Taliban militants in recent operations. However, Afghan authorities dispute these figures and claim that Pakistani troops suffered heavy losses.Pakistani leaders also accuse the Taliban government of allowing militant groups to operate in Afghanistan.Officials in Islamabad said these groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, have carried out repeated attacks against security forces and civilians in Pakistan.
Pakistan says Taliban crossed ‘red line’
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari accused the Afghan Taliban government of crossing a “red line” last week by deploying drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan.Islamabad said the attacks prompted further military operations targeting militant infrastructure in the border areas.Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly denied the accusations and insisted it would not allow any group to use Afghan territory to launch attacks on other countries.
Pakistan denies Taliban claims, calls them ‘distortions of facts’
Pakistan’s Information Ministry also denied claims that a drug rehabilitation hospital was targeted.“The statement made by the so-called spokesman of the disgraced Taliban regime is yet another distortion of facts aimed at misleading public opinion,” the ministry said in a post on X.The statement added: “On the evening of March 16, Pakistan precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including Afghan Taliban and Fitna al Khawarij technical equipment storage and ammunition storage in Kabul and Nangarhar, which were used against innocent Pakistani civilians. The explosion of stockpiled munitions used by terrorist agents following the attack also completely disproves this false claim.” “Pakistan’s targeting is precise and careful to ensure no collateral damage is caused. This misrepresentation of facts is intended to inflame emotions and conceal illegal support for cross-border terrorism. The statement is rejected as false and misleading.”
Pakistan denies rejecting China’s mediation offer
Pakistan’s foreign ministry also refuted reports that Pakistan was rejecting China’s mediation efforts to ease tensions in Afghanistan.Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said the claim was baseless.Pakistan and China remain trustworthy partners and close friends, and both sides maintain regular and close communication on all issues of common concern and common interest.“Therefore, any unnecessary speculation or fabrication of facts in this regard is unfounded,” he said.China urges both sides to return to the negotiating tableChina called on both countries to avoid further escalation and resume dialogue.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said preventing the conflict from expanding was a top priority.“The top priority is to avoid the expansion of the war and get the two countries back 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 grow across region
Since the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan has historically been a center of armed activity, the escalating conflict has attracted international attention.The United Nations Security Council recently called on the Afghan Taliban authorities to step up efforts to combat terrorism and condemned terrorist activities in the region.The Security Council also extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan by three months as tensions between the two countries continued to rise.The International Human Rights Foundation also condemned the strike. In a statement, the organization called for an “independent investigation” into the incident. Meanwhile, in another incident in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least two people were abducted and later killed, Dawn reported.
