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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.
Flight operations at Islamabad International Airport will remain suspended for two hours on March 16, Pakistani authorities said on Saturday. In a social media post, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) advised passengers to check with their airlines for any updates. "Due to operational reasons, flight operations at Islamabad International Airport will remain temporarily suspended on 16 March 2026 from 08:30 am to 10:30 am PKT," it said. In a notice to airmen (Notam), the PAA specified segments of air traffic service (ATS) routes within the Lahore flight information region (FIR) that would not be available from ground to flight level 210 due to "operational reasons". The Notam stated that arrival and departure operations at Islamabad International Airport would remain closed, and urged arriving aircraft to "bring sufficient holding fuel to cater for delay". No reason was given for the closure of the airspace, but media reports suggested that it would be for the rehearsal of the .
The State Department will permanently close the US consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, which has been America's closest diplomatic mission to the Afghan border and was a primary operations and logistics point before, during and after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. The department notified Congress this week of its intent to close the consulate and said it would save USD 7.5 million per year, while not adversely affecting its ability to advance US national interests in Pakistan, according to a copy of the notification obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The move has been under consideration for more than a year since the Trump administration began downsizing nearly all federal agencies and is not related to the Iran war, which has sparked protests in various Pakistani cities, including Karachi and Peshawar, where the US consulates temporarily suspended operations. The administration's cuts to the State Department last year included the dismissal of several thousand diplomat
At least 10 people were killed on Sunday after violent clashes and arson took place in different cities of Pakistan protesting the killing of Shiite supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. All 10 people were killed in firing in Karachi when protesters tried to storm the US Consulate in the port city. Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei was killed on Saturday in a coordinated US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran with his death confirmed on Sunday, prompting an outburst of anger by Pakistan's Shiites, who are about 20 per cent of the 240 million population. The US Embassy in Islamabad said it is monitoring reports of ongoing demonstrations at the US Consulate General in Karachi and Lahore even as Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi requested the citizens not to take the law into their hands and "record their protest peacefully." Violent clashes occurred in the coastal city of Karachi in Sindh province where angry proctors tried to attack the US Consulate building on Mai Kolachi Road and ..
At least six persons were killed and several injured on Sunday after clashes broke out between police and protesters outside the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the US-Israel strike on Iran. A large number of demonstrators were gathered around the consulate, prompting local police to use tear gas and fire warning shots to disperse the crowd, police said. Edhi Information confirmed that six people have been killed and several injured near Mai Kolachi Road during the firing and unrest. They were transferred to the Civil Hospital Trauma Centre, the Express Tribune reported. Sindh Minister for Interior Ziaul Hasan Langar has requested immediate details from the Additional IG Karachi, stressing that, "No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands." He called for enhanced security at sensitive installations. He added that alternative routes should be determined to maintain traffic flow during the protests.
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