Afghanistan

The European Union called Pakistan's attack on a medical facility in Kabul "another deadly escalation in a conflict that needs to end as soon as possible"

A deadly airstrike in Kabul has triggered global alarm. Afghanistan says a hospital was hit, killing 400. Pakistan denies it. Here’s what we know and why this could mark a dangerous turning point.

Pakistan said it carried out 'precision airstrikes' on Taliban sites in Kabul and Nangarhar, targeting military depots and infrastructure, and accused the Taliban of making 'false claims'

India condemned Pakistan's airstrike on a Kabul hospital that killed 400 people, calling it a barbaric act; it said the attack violates Afghanistan's sovereignty and urged global action

Weeks of cross-border attacks and rising casualties have pushed Pakistan and Afghanistan into a major crisis, driven by historic tensions over the Durand Line, militancy and shifting regional ties

Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman said early Tuesday the death toll from an airstrike by Pakistan that hit a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital Kabul has increased to 400. In a post on X, Hamdullah Fitrat said the strike on Monday night had destroyed large sections of the hospital. He said the death toll so far stood at 400, while a further 250 people had been reported injured. Fitrat said rescue teams were trying to control the fire at the building and recover the bodies of the victims. Pakistan had earlier denied that it had hit a hospital, saying its strike in Kabul and other strikes in eastern Afghanistan Monday had not hit any civilian sites. Afghanistan on Monday accused Pakistan's military of targeting a Kabul hospital that treats drug users in airstrikes, with the country's Health Ministry spokesman saying more than 200 people had been killed. Pakistan dismissed the accusation, saying the strikes - which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan - di

India on Saturday condemned Pakistan's air strikes inside Afghan territory, asserting that Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be fully respected. "India condemns the air strikes by Pakistan in Afghanistan's territory, leading to the death of several civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "This is yet another act of aggression by a Pakistani establishment that remains hostile to the idea of a sovereign Afghanistan," he said. Jaiswal was responding to a media query on the Pakistani aerial raid on Afghanistan. "India reiterates that Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be fully respected," he said. The Pakistani military carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan in the last few weeks amid an escalating conflict between the two sides.

At UNSC briefing, India says strikes violate international law and endanger Afghan civilians

A Pakistan minister on Sunday announced that the operation against Afghan Taliban was continuing, refuting social media reports about the conclusion of the blitz. Pakistan launched its operation on Thursday night in response to the Taliban operatives attacking 53 locations along the more than 2,600km long border, targeting military installations deep in the country through air strikes. Federal Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry refuted reports that Pakistan halted its operations, saying that "false and fabricated news is being spread on social media that Pakistan has stopped its operations against Afghanistan". "The reality is the opposite. In view of the current regional situation, the sharing of PAF and drone footage with the media has been temporarily suspended. The purpose of this decision is to safeguard national security and operational strategy, not to prevent operations," he wrote on X. He further said: "Operations are continuing. The operation agains

Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the sounds were the result of Afghan forces targeting Pakistani aircraft over the capital

Diplomatic efforts gathered pace late on Friday as Afghanistan said its foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan about reducing tensions

If the Pakistanis think they can do better than the Americans, an Indian partisan can again say, go ahead, make my day

Targets in the capital Kabul and the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders are based, were hit, signalling a stark rupture in ties between the Islamic neighbours

China on Friday called on Pakistan and Afghanistan to work out a ceasefire while expressing concern over the escalation of the conflict between the two countries. China is closely following the developments of the situation in the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here, responding to questions on the current conflict between the two countries. Pakistan and Afghanistan are close neighbours, and both are neighbouring countries of China. As a neighbour and friend, China is deeply concerned about the escalation of the conflict and deeply saddened by the casualties caused by the conflict, Mao said. She said China supports combating all forms of terrorism and calls on both sides to exercise calm and restraint, properly resolve their differences and disputes through dialogue and consultation, and realise a ceasefire as soon as possible to avoid more suffering. The de-escalation serves the fundamental interests o

Pakistani officials said they carried out retaliatory strikes under 'Operation Ghazab lil Haq' on Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday

A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January, "defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan's international legal obligations," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Thursday in remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He urged Afghan authorities to rescind the decree. Comprised of 119 articles, the 60-page Decree No. 12 lays out penalties for women who visit their relatives without their husband's permission, and allows husbands and the heads of households to determine and mete out punishment in their own homes. "It provides for the use of corporal punishment for numerous offences, including in the home, legitimising violence against women and children," Turk said. "And it ..

Pakistan launched a retaliatory operation in response to the alleged border attacks by the Afghan Taliban, saying it has killed over 130 Taliban fighters. Operation Ghazab lil Haq commenced late Thursday night after the Afghan Taliban allegedly launched attacks on several border posts. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that the operation was underway, saying that the armed forces are currently delivering a strong response to aggression from the Afghan Taliban. Providing an update on the operation, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that at least 133 Afghan Taliban operatives were killed and more than 200 were injured. "Afghan Taliban defence targets in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar were targeted, with the possibility of further casualties," he said, adding that at least 27 posts of the Afghan Taliban regime were destroyed, and nine other posts were captured. The minister further informed that two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, two ammunition depots, one

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday, Afghanistan's government spokesman said, hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the volatile neighbours that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky. At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia. Afghanistan said its military launched its attack across the border into Pakistan late Thursday in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday, and claimed to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts. Pakistan's government, which had described last Sunday's airstrikes as an attack on militants ...

Afghan military authorities say they have begun carrying out strikes against Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes days ago. A statement issued by the media office of Afghanistan's military corps in the east said "heavy clashes" had begun Thursday night "in response to the recent airstrikes carried out by Pakistani forces in Nangarhar and Paktia" provinces. There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan and no immediate information on casualties. On Sunday, Pakistan's military carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan, saying it had killed at least 70 militants. Afghanistan rejected the claim, saying dozens of civilians had been killed, including women and children.

India on Sunday strongly condemned Pakistan's fresh airstrikes on Afghan territory that resulted in civilian casualties. New Delhi described the strikes as another attempt by Pakistan to "externalise its internal failures", and reiterated its support for Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "India strongly condemns Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory that have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "It is another attempt by Pakistan to externalise its internal failures. India reiterates its support for Afghanistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence," he said in response to media queries on the issue. Pakistan said the airstrikes were carried out to target at least seven militant hideouts in Afghanistan in retaliation for the recent rebel attacks in the country. Islamabad claimed that at least 70 terrorists were killed in t