Afghanistan on Monday accused Pakistan of killing civilians in fresh airstrikes on Kabul, an allegation Islamabad denied, saying it had carried out precision strikes on military and “terrorist” targets.Loud explosions rocked the Afghan capital at about 9.00 pm local time, with plumes of smoke visible from the Shahr-e-Naw and Wazir Akbar Khan areas of the city.Afghanistan’s Taliban government said the Pakistani strikes hit a hospital treating drug addicts in Kabul, killing four people and wounding several others.Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that the Pakistani military had “once again violated Afghan territory,” calling the strikes “a crime” and an “act of inhumanity.” He said most of those killed and wounded were addicts receiving treatment at the facility.Pakistan rejected the allegation. A spokesman for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mosharraf Zaidi, dismissed the claims as baseless and said no hospital was targeted in Kabul.Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the strikes “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban” and Afghanistan-based Pakistani militants in Kabul and Nangarhar. It said the locations “were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians.”The ministry added that Pakistan’s targeting was “precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted.” It described Mujahid’s claim as “false and misleading” and aimed at stirring sentiment and covering what it called “illegitimate support for cross-border terrorism.”Pakistan’s military has struck Kabul several times in recent weeks as tensions rose over accusations that Afghanistan’s Taliban government has sheltered militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan.The latest developments came as deadly clashes continued along the countries’ shared border.Pakistan has repeatedly said its military only targets Afghan posts and militant hideouts. Officials in Islamabad have described the situation as an “open war,” with clashes including multiple Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan’s Taliban administration crossed a “red line” by deploying drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan last week.In response, Pakistan’s air force struck equipment storage sites and “technical support infrastructure” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province over the weekend, saying the sites were being used for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul said Pakistan hit two locations, including an empty security site and a drug rehabilitation center that sustained minor damage.In Kabul, Afghanistan’s administrative deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi said defending sovereignty is the duty of all citizens. Speaking during a meeting with political analysts and media figures, Hanafi expressed regret over civilian casualties in recent Pakistani attacks and said the war was imposed on Afghanistan.
