Kabul, March 18 (NationPress) The European Union (EU) has expressed its strong condemnation of a recent Pakistani airstrike on a healthcare facility in Kabul, characterizing it as a grave escalation in the ongoing hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The EU has called upon both parties to practice utmost restraint and implement all possible measures to safeguard civilians, emphasizing that assaults on civilian and medical establishments infringe upon international humanitarian law.

This statement follows the Pakistani air assault on Monday night, which hit the 2,000-bed Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital located in Kabul's Pul-e-Charkhi region, resulting in numerous fatalities and injuries.

“Civilian and medical establishments must never be the target of military actions, as they are protected under International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions. All factions engaged in military activities bear the responsibility to honor these rules at all times,” the EU remarked.

The EU stands alongside the global community in demanding an immediate ceasefire and the renewal of discussions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, asserted on Tuesday that the attack executed by Pakistani forces at the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital resulted in over 408 patients undergoing drug rehabilitation being killed and more than 265 injured.

While addressing ambassadors, heads of missions, and representatives from international organizations in Kabul, Muttaqi stated that the strikes took place around 9 p.m. on March 16, carried out by “military aircraft and drones of the Pakistani military regime,” which deliberately targeted one of the most vulnerable segments of Afghan society.

He further noted that the victims were individuals battling addiction and receiving treatment through Afghan government programs supported by international humanitarian organizations, warning that the casualty figures might rise.

Muttaqi accused Pakistan's military of disregarding both Islamic and humanitarian warfare principles, intentionally attacking civilian and humanitarian sites, highlighting that this assault occurred during the concluding days of Ramadan and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr.

He reiterated that Afghan security forces had reacted with proportional and defensive actions, targeting solely military sites that had initiated attacks, and emphasized that such responses would persist until Pakistan halted its “violations and crimes.”