NEW DELHI/KABUL/ISLAMABAD: India unequivocally condemned Pakistan’s “barbaric” airstrikes on a drug rehabilitation hospital, which was said to have resulted in a death toll of around 400, saying that Islamabad was trying to dress up a massacre as a military operation. Expressing solidarity with Afghanistan, Indian govt said this was a cowardly and unconscionable act of violence that claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility which could by no means be justified as a military target.Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said in a post on X the airstrike took place at 9 pm (1630 GMT) on Monday and targeted the state-run Omid Hospital, which he said was a 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation centre. Taliban has reported 408 dead, 265 injured in the Pakistan airstrike. Hundreds more were said to have been wounded at the facility, flattening buildings used to treat people from across the country for addictions to marijuana, amphetamines and other narcotics. A Taliban spokesperson warned on Tuesday that Afghanistan would retaliate, a step that could lead to war between the two nations.Pakistan has denied targeting any hospital, saying it is only engaging military and terrorist infrastructure.The MEA said in a statement that the heinous act of aggression by Pakistan was also a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability.“It reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and its repeated attempts to externalise internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence beyond its borders,” said the ministry, adding there’s no faith, now and no morality that could justify the deliberate targeting of a hospital and its patients.

Govt also said that the attack was even more blameworthy because of its timing. “That this attack was carried out during the holy month of Ramzan, a time of peace, reflection and mercy among Muslim communities across the world, makes it all the more reprehensible,” said the statement. India also urged the international community to hold the perpetrators of this criminal act accountable .“India extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families… and stands in solidarity with…Afghanistan in this tragic moment. We also reiterate our unwavering support for the sovereignty…of Afghanistan,” MEA said.(With agency inputs)