India on Tuesday condemned Pakistan for its brutal airstrike on the Omid addiction treatment hospital in Kabul, which killed hundreds and injured many others. She said Islamabad was trying to portray the mass killing as a legitimate military operation.
New Delhi called on the international community to ensure that those responsible are held accountable, offered condolences to the families of the victims and reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, an official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The spokesperson’s statement said that India strongly condemns Pakistan’s brutal airstrike on the Omid Addiction Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16.
“This is a cowardly and reckless act of violence that has claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility that cannot in any way be justified as a military target. Pakistan is now trying to disguise the massacre as a military operation,” the statement said.
He described the attack as a blatant violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability, highlighting Pakistan’s continued pattern of reckless behavior and its repeated efforts to externalize internal problems through increasingly desperate acts of cross-border violence.
“That this attack was carried out during the holy month of Ramzan, a time of peace, reflection and mercy among Muslim communities around the world, makes it all the more reprehensible. There is no faith, no law and no morality that can justify the deliberate targeting of a hospital and its patients,” the statement said.
Calling for an immediate end to Pakistan’s deliberate targeting of civilians in Afghanistan, India further expressed its condolences to the affected families, offered hope for the speedy recovery of the injured and reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Afghanistan during this tragic time.
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The statement also reiterated India’s continued support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
400 people were killed in an airstrike in Kabul, Afghan authorities say
About 400 people were killed in an airstrike Monday night at the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul, a 2,000-bed facility, Afghan officials said. Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesman, said large parts of the hospital had been destroyed and about 250 people had been injured, while rescue teams continued to control the fires and retrieve the bodies of victims.
Tolo News noted that this was not the first time the Pakistani military had attacked Afghan civilians, with previous attacks targeting women and children in various provinces.
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Afghan media outlet Khaama Press reported that residents of Kabul observed dozens of houses damaged by the blasts, with several buildings suffering structural damage. Sources quoted by Khaama Press said that a Pakistani aircraft targeted a Taliban military facility in the Ghani Khel district of Nangarhar province late on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Samaa News in Pakistan, citing security officials, confirmed that Pakistani armed forces had carried out airstrikes in Kabul and Nangarhar targeting Taliban-linked facilities. According to Samaa, two locations in Kabul were hit, destroying technical support infrastructure and ammunition depots, and officials denied hitting a drug treatment center, calling Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s claims “ridiculous”.
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In Nangarhar, the strikes reportedly hit four Taliban military facilities, including logistics hubs, ammunition depots and technical facilities. TOLOnews noted that Afghan civilians have often been caught in previous Pakistani cross-border attacks, with women and children affected in border provinces, prompting protests and condemnation in Afghanistan.
The latest strike prompted strong reactions at home, with Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issuing a stern warning to Pakistan. Mujahid told TOLOnews that “the time for diplomacy with Pakistan is over and that the attack must be avenged”.
