The Afghan Taliban has strongly condemned Pakistan over a deadly airstrike on a Kabul hospital, calling it a “crime against humanity” and warning of retaliation.
Speaking to NDTV, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen, currently serving as acting ambassador to Qatar, said at least 400 people were killed and around 250 injured when the Pakistani Air Force struck a major rehabilitation hospital in Kabul on Monday night.
“At 9 PM, the Pakistani Air Force carried out an air strike on the hospital, killing more than 400 patients and injuring 250 others. It was a very brutal attack and a crime against humanity,” Shaheen said.
He added that grieving families rushed to the site in search of loved ones. “The families of those killed came to the hospital crying and asking for their relatives.”
‘Will Respond In Their Language'
Shaheen accused Pakistan of launching the strike under what he described as a “baseless claim” of targeting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group Islamabad holds responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.
Rejecting the possibility of ongoing back-channel talks, he signalled a hardening stance from Kabul.
“Right now, there are no back-channel talks. They have chosen the military approach, while we always wanted a peaceful solution to issues. They chose to attack Afghanistan first. So, I think it will be responded to in their language,” he said.
Videos Show Scale Of Destruction
Videos circulating on social media platform X purportedly show a massive explosion at the state-run Omid hospital, followed by large plumes of smoke and fire engulfing the facility. Other visuals show emergency responders recovering bodies and battling flames.
Pakistan Denies Targeting Hospital
Pakistan has rejected the allegations, maintaining that its strikes were precise and targeted only militant infrastructure.
In a post on X, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military had conducted “precision airstrikes” on identified targets in Kabul and Nangarhar.
“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 said.
He added that “technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities” were destroyed during the operation.
Escalation Amid Regional Tensions
The strike marks a sharp escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, threatening a fragile ceasefire along their 2,600-km border. The development also comes against the backdrop of a widening regional conflict, with tensions already high following the ongoing war in Iran triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
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