MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Russia is deeply concerned about the ongoing armed clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan and calls on the parties to abandon confrontation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
As the diplomat emphasized, Moscow is "deeply concerned about the continuing military confrontation between countries friendly to Russia — Pakistan and Afghanistan," which is resulting, among other things, in tragic consequences for the civilian population.
"A new tragic episode was an airstrike, as a result of which, according to media reports, a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul was destroyed on the evening of March 16. There are numerous casualties. According to reports, 400 civilians were killed and 240 were injured," Zakharova said, adding, "We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Once again, we strongly urge Islamabad and Kabul to abandon the dead-end course of confrontation and resolve their differences through political and diplomatic means."
Earlier, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistan’s air force had struck a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul. Islamabad denied the Afghan authorities’ claims, stating that only military facilities had been targeted. Reuters, citing Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, reported that the death toll from Pakistan’s strike on Kabul had risen to 408, with at least 265 people injured.
Fighting resumed on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on the evening of February 26. Kabul said it was conducting a military operation in response to recent Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that his country and the Taliban government in Afghanistan are now in a state of open armed confrontation.