Pakistan on Thursday rejected Amnesty International's call for an investigation into a March airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in the Afghan capital that the rights group said could amount to a war crime, dismissing the allegations as unsupported and describing the operation as a lawful act of self-defense. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told a news briefing in Islamabad that Pakistan "completely rejects the allegations" made by Amnesty International, calling it "unfortunate" that such serious claims had been made "without any credible evidence."
His remarks came a day after Amnesty International said it had found no evidence to support Pakistan's claim that Kabul's Omid drug rehabilitation center was being used for military purposes or to store weapons and ammunition when it was struck on March 16.
Afghanistan has said the strike killed about 400 civilians. Pakistani officials dispute the death toll and maintain the strike targeted a legitimate military site.
Amnesty said it analyzed more than 60 photos and videos, including footage released by Pakistan's military, reviewed more than 30 satellite images and interviewed witnesses and other sources. It said it asked Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on July 9 whether an investigation had been launched and requested evidence supporting Pakistan's justification for the strike but had received no response before publishing its report.
The strike came amid months of escalating cross-border hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.