Kabul: Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of targeting a hospital in Kabul, late on Monday night, resulting in the deaths of at least 400 people.
The hospital specialised in the treatment of drug addicts, as reported by Zee News.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said that a large portion of the hospital building was destroyed in the overnight attack. The death toll has reached 400, while another 250 people were injured, he said. Emergency teams are working to control fires at the site and pull victims from the debris.
Pakistan has, however, denied hitting any hospital in Kabul. No civilian locations were affected in its strikes on Kabul and eastern Afghanistan on Monday, Islamabad maintained. Officials claimed that only terrorist groups were targeted, insisting that the operation was carried out with extreme caution to avoid collateral damage.
The latest strike followed intense exchange of fire between the two countries across the disputed border. The Afghan government condemned the airstrikes as a breach of its national borders and warned that it would respond.
The deadly clashes between the two sides has now entered its third week.
A large part of the drug rehabilitation hospital was completely destroyed, Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Health, said. Firefighters continued for hours to extinguish flames among the rubble.
Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the strike on patients as a brutal assault.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information claimed that its airstrikes targeted military positions and terrorist support structures, including Taliban technical equipment and ammunition depots. The operation also focussed on Pakistani terrorists operating within Kabul and Nangarhar in Afghanistan, the ministry added.
Pakistan’s actions were executed with great care to avoid unnecessary damage, it was said in a statement. The claims of an attack on the hospital are false and misleading, officials said, accusing Afghan authorities of trying to inflame public emotions and distort the truth.
