New Delhi, March 17: The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse and in the latest attack by Pakistan, 400 people were killed in an airstrike. Officials said this escalation is a dramatic one and signals that Pakistan has no plans of stopping the war that it got into with Afghanistan.

This is the deadliest strike in Afghanistan following the one that took place in 2021 when the US troops were withdrawing from the country. In that attack, which was a suicide bombing, 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members were killed.

Since the start of the war in February, there have been repeated clashes between the two sides in the border areas. Pakistan has also used its air power extensively to subdue the Afghan Taliban.

Officials said that Pakistan knows that it cannot sustain boots on the ground with the Taliban. It has tried reaching out to the Taliban, but Kabul has remained firm that it wants no interference from Islamabad.

Another official said that Pakistan is attempting a regime change in Afghanistan. The targeting of a hospital is an attempt by Islamabad to send across a message to the Taliban that they would have to come to the negotiating table, the official added.

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, Mandullah Fitrat, said the airstrike had hit the hospital at around 9 p.m. local time. A large section of the 2,000-bed facility had been destroyed. He also said that the death toll so far stood at 400, while the number of those injured was at 250. Around 2,000 people were being treated at the drug treatment hospital when the strikes took place.

Fitrat said that rescue operations are on and teams are working to control the fire and recover the bodies. The casualties are likely to be higher, the spokesperson also said.

The ramifications of this strike could be huge, Afghanistan watchers said.

It is clearly a miscalculation by Pakistan, and in this act of madness, it has only managed to unite the Afghan people further. The Afghan people, who were initially not siding with the Taliban, started backing the regime after Pakistan threw out Afghan refugees. This was seen as an act of barbarism by the people of Afghanistan, and they started justifying the Taliban’s actions against Islamabad.

Pakistan was, however, quick to deny any role in the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said that the allegations made by Kabul are baseless and no hospital was targeted.

Pakistan further said that the strikes precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure that included technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan continued to claim without proof that the Afghan Taliban is backing terror groups to target innocent Pakistani civilians.

Islamabad has been attacking Afghanistan since February 26. While Pakistan claims that it has hit military targets, the fact remains that there have been many misses as a result of which there have been a large number of civilian casualties.

With the latest strikes, there have been at least 475 civilian deaths, while 1,15,000 people have been displaced.

Officials said that Pakistan is out to destroy Afghanistan, and the targeting of civilians clearly shows that. Pakistan is also looking to take advantage of the fact that the world is focused on the war in Iran.

With no intervention from the rest of the world, Pakistan hopes to inflict maximum damage on the people of Afghanistan, officials also added.

Since the start of the war, Pakistan has been attempting to change the regime in Afghanistan. Islamabad realises that the regime has the backing of the people. This explains why so many civilians are being targeted.

Media accounts clearly suggest that the Afghan people are ready to go with their children to the border and fight against the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army wants to dissuade the people from backing the Taliban and hence is resorting to killing civilians, officials also said.

Mumbai: is a city that embraces crores of citizens. Therefore, the responsibility of keeping this city clean and beautiful lies with every resident and every citizen here. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration is making continuous efforts for cleanliness. However, the efforts of the administration alone are not enough. Citizens need to take the initiative themselves. Because, public cleanliness is a social duty, actor Padma Shri Akshay Kumar has made this appeal. To keep the area of ​​Mumbai (Mumbai city and suburbs) clean and beautiful, the Solid Waste Management Department of Mumbai Municipal Corporation has organized the ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition. Registration for this competition began today (March 17, 2026) at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in the presence of actor Padma Shri Shri.

MLA Amit Sattam, Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar, Chairman of the Standing Committee Prabhakar Shinde, Chairperson of the Education Committee Rajeshree Shravadkar, Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Kiran Dighavkar etc. were present on the occasion. Akshay Kumar further said that the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is constantly trying to keep Mumbai clean. As citizens, we should be more positive about this and take an active part in it. To increase public participation in public cleanliness and highlight its importance, a ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition has been organized. Celebrities from the fields of film, sports etc. will participate in it along with various institutions. He also said that this will create a competitive environment and help maintain cleanliness. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said on the occasion that various steps are being taken and various activities are being implemented in Mumbai by the Solid Waste Management Department of the Municipal Corporation in relation to public cleanliness. In this context, the ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition has been organized to ensure cleanliness in Mumbai and increase the participation of citizens. These competitions will be held in various categories including Clean Administrative Division (Corporate Servant Group), Clean Administrative Division (Ward), Clean Residential Complex, Clean Slum Area, Clean Commercial Establishment, Clean Hospital (Government and Private), Clean Restaurant (Restaurant, CC Road), Clean Restaurant. Clean Parks and Open Spaces, Clean Market and Adoption of the Surrounding Area for Cleaning.

Meanwhile, the registration process for this competition has started from today (March 17, 2026). Citizens or institutions can register for the competition by visiting the link https://sba.mcgm.gov.in/bmc/ or by scanning the QR code circulated through social media, media, Public Awareness Board. Gagrani also said that to ensure fair and transparent competition, the evaluation of each registered establishment can be viewed on the website in real time.

In the Clean Administrative Division (Municipal Servant Group) category, a prize fund of Rs. 1 crore, Rs. 75 lakh for the first position and Rs. 50 lakh for the third position and in the Clean Administrative Division (Ward) category, a prize fund of Rs. 50 lakh, Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh will be given. In the Clean Residential Complex category, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakh, Rs. 20 lakh, Rs. 30 lakh will be given. In the Clean Slum Area category, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Commercial Establishment, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Hospital (Government and Private), a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean School (Government and Private), a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Canteen, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Community Toilet, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 30 lakhs will be given. In the category of Clean Road/Pathway, a prize fund of Rs. 15 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, Rs 30 lakh will be given. The first prize in the Clean Park and Open Space category is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. The first prize in the Clean Market Area category is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. While the first prize for the special category of adopting the surrounding area for cleanliness is Rs 15 lakh, the second prize is Rs 10 lakh, the third prize is Rs 5 lakh. The entire competition will be evaluated by a third-party organization.

Mumbai: Once again, the Hindu Sangha protested in Kurla area demanding strict action against illegal hawkers, after which the BMC will now register a case against such hawkers who have been repeatedly found occupying the road and footpath or have interfered in the action. To make the action against hawkers more effective, the police and BMCL L ward should take joint action. The residents of Kurla are facing a lot of problems due to hawkers, after which an important meeting was held in L ward in which DMC Sarshagar made it clear that action will be taken against illegal encroachments along with clearing Kurla of hawkers.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar said that in order to make further progress in the operation that was going on in the limits of L Ward Kurla in January, an FIR will now be registered for effective action. On the complaint of BMC, the police will now register a case in this matter. In this meeting, Kurla Senior Police Inspector Rukas Mehmkar has assured all possible cooperation in the operation. Earlier, the Sakal Hindu Samaj also tried to give a communal and religious color to the hawkers and hawkers. Along with this, action has also been demanded against the illegal Iftar party in the market and the unauthorized Iftar party on the road. Not only this, there is also a demand to remove the temporary prayer shed in the market, on which BMC officers have assured necessary action.

The BMC has now taken action against the illegal encroachment on footpaths in Kurla, and Assistant Municipal Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar has made it clear that action will also be taken against the hotels that have encroached on roads and footpaths. This action will be taken in collaboration with the traffic police and police personnel. After the assurance of the BMC, the Circle Hindu Samaj ended its protest. BJP leader Rupesh Pawar has said that hotels have occupied the footpath from Kurla Sahara Hotel to LBS Marg. There is a traffic problem here. There are five hospitals at the same location. If a patient is in a critical condition, it is difficult to reach the hospital. Many patients have also died in this. Therefore, action is also necessary against those hotels that do business on the footpath. This is why the citizens of Kurla are worried about the footpath and if the BMC relaxes the action on this, the protest will intensify further. Hindskal has warned the BMC that if action is not taken against illegal businesses and hawkers, the protest will intensify further.