India on Tuesday strongly condemned what it described as a “cowardly and unconscionable” airstrike by Pakistan on a hospital in Kabul, saying the attack on a civilian medical facility marked a grave violation of international law and Afghanistan’s sovereignty, even as the United Nations flagged heavy civilian casualties and called for an immediate ceasefire. Reports said at least 400 people died in the incident.In a sharply worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan had targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16, resulting in large-scale civilian casualties.“This is a barbaric act of violence that has claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility that can by no means be justified as a military target,” the official spokesperson said, accusing Islamabad of attempting to “dress up a massacre as a military operation”.India said the strike represented a “blatant assault” on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and warned that such actions posed a direct threat to regional peace and stability.It also described the timing of the attack during the holy month of Ramzan as “particularly reprehensible”, and called on the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable. New Delhi extended condolences to the victims’ families and reiterated its support for Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the airstrike, carried out around 9 pm on March 16, hit a key healthcare facility for drug de-addiction in Kabul, leaving “dozens” killed and injured.However, local estimates cited by officials suggested the toll could be far higher, with at least 400 people feared dead and many more injured, making it one of the deadliest incidents in the recent phase of Afghanistan-Pakistan hostilities.According to reports from Kabul, the strike caused extensive structural damage to the hospital complex, with sections collapsing under the impact of what officials described as precision-guided munitions.Emergency responders worked through the night to pull survivors from the debris, while nearby hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of injured patients.Afghan authorities condemned the strike as a clear violation of international humanitarian law and lodged a strong protest, asserting that the hospital was a purely civilian facility with no links to militant activity. Kabul has called for an independent international investigation into the incident and accountability for those responsible.Pakistan, however, denied deliberately targeting civilians, maintaining that its operation was aimed at “terror infrastructure” based on credible intelligence inputs.