Kabul, Mar 17 : In a massive provocative action, Pakistani military tonight, during the auspicious Islamic night of ‘Shab-e-Qadr’, bombed a big hospital in Kabul, killing over 250 and wounding more than 400 people, as per the initial estimates.
An outraged Afghan Taliban regime vowed to retaliate against this “criminal act”, saying “the time for diplomacy or talks” with Pakistan was over.
The 1,000-bed hospital, a rehabilitation center for drug addicts, was hit by Pakistani air strikes, causing huge fire and destruction of the building.
According to officials, hundreds of patients, doctors, paramedics and other staffers were present at the premises when the Pakistani fighter planes bombed it.
Many victims were buried under the debris of the building and rescuers are trying to save lives.
According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, over 250 people were killed and more than 400 injured in the airstrike in Kabul.
“The Pakistani military regime has once again violated Afghanistan’s airspace and targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, resulting in the death and injury of addicts who were undergoing treatment,” said Zabihullah Muhajid, spokesman of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, in a social media post at around 11 pm (Afghanistan Time).
“We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity,” he added.
The latest air strikes come as part of repeated aerial bombardments carried out by the Pakistani military since February 22, targeting residential houses, market places and other civilian localities in various parts of Afghanistan.
At least 24 civilians, mostly children and women, have been killed in these cross-border attacks by the Pakistani military in just last 10 days, as per local officials.
As part of retaliatory operations, Afghan forces have targeted Pakistani military posts along the disputed Durand Line border and some interior areas of Pakistan.
They have claimed to have killed dozens of Pakistani soldiers and captured several military posts during these operations.
