Afghanistan says 400 killed in Pakistan air strike on Kabul hospital, Pakistan rejects claim

More than 400 individuals lost their lives and 250 others were wounded in an air strike by Pakistan on a hospital for drug users in Kabul, according to a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban government on Tuesday. This marks a significant increase in hostilities between the two neighboring countries. Pakistan dismissed these allegations, labeling them as false and misleading, asserting that it specifically targeted military sites and facilities supporting terrorism on Monday night. The air strike occurred shortly after China announced its commitment to help ease tensions between the South Asian Islamic nations, urging both sides to avoid escalating the conflict and return to negotiations. The ongoing conflict, which began last month, is the most severe ever recorded between the two nations that share a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border. Efforts by friendly nations, including China, had previously aimed to mediate and halt the fighting before tensions flared up again. This escalation occurs amid broader instability in the region, particularly following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran's subsequent retaliation, which have led to a crisis in the Middle East. The site of the attack featured a charred single-story building that showed signs of fire damage. Other structures were reduced to debris, with only a few bunk beds remaining intact, while personal items and bedding were scattered around. Haji Fahim, an ambulance driver, recounted to Reuters, “When I arrived (last night), I saw that everything was burning, people were burning.” He added that he received another call early in the morning instructing him to return because there were still bodies trapped under the rubble. Ambulances and police vehicles were stationed near the entrance of the damaged facility, which was identified as a “drug addiction treatment hospital” with a capacity of 1,000 beds, while security personnel kept watch. Pakistan maintained that there was no collateral damage from the air strike.