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Russia says four survive charter jet crash in Afghanistan, condition of two others unclear

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Russia’s aviation watchdog said on Sunday four people survived the crash of a charter plane bound for Moscow in northern Afghanistan, citing the Russian embassy there, and it said the condition of two other passengers on board was not yet clear, Reuters reported.

Two Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) provincial officials said four survivors were now with Islamic Emirate government officials who had reached the remote, mountainous site of the crash. They said that two other passengers had died.

The IEA government’s top spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the pilot of the plane was among four who had survived.

“The investigative team of the Islamic Emirate continues their efforts to search for and provide assistance to the remaining individuals,” he said in a statement.

The Russian-registered charter plane with six people on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan a day earlier, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Sunday, after Afghan police said they had received reports of a crash, read the report.

The plane was a charter ambulance flight travelling from Thailand’s Utapao Airport in Pattaya to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan on a French-made Dassault Aviation (AM.PA), opens new tab Falcon 10 jet manufactured in 1978, Rosaviatsia said in a statement.

About 25 minutes before the plane vanished from radar screens, the pilot warned that fuel was running low and that the plane would try to land at an airport in Tajikistan, Russian news outlet SHOT reported, citing an unnamed source.

The pilot then reported that one engine had stopped, and then that the second one had also stopped, SHOT reported.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the details shared by SHOT.

India’s civil aviation authority said the plane was not a scheduled commercial flight or an Indian chartered aircraft.

The flight was carrying out a private medical evacuation from Thailand’s Pattaya, a popular tourist destination for Russians, to Moscow, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the Russian embassy in Bangkok.

“On board was a bedridden patient in serious condition, a Russian citizen, who was transported from one of the hospitals in Pattaya to Russia,” the RIA news agency reported, citing a source at Thailand’s Utapao International Airport.

“She was accompanied by her husband, a private entrepreneur, also a Russian citizen, who paid for the flight.”

Several Russian media outlets said the passengers were a couple from Volgodonsk in southern Russia, Reuters reported.

A manifest list for the plane, published by the SHOT news outlet, appeared to show the crew were also Russian nationals.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case to determine if safety rules had been violated.

The plane’s reported owner, a small Russian firm called Athletic Group LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Islamic Emirate-run Afghan aviation ministry said in a statement on X that the plane’s planned route did not include passing through Afghanistan’s air space and that “probably due to technical issues” the plane had diverted from its planned route.

The statement said a ministry technical team was investigating the matter.

Afghanistan police had received reports of a plane crash in a remote, mountainous region of Badakhshan in Afghanistan’s far north, a provincial police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Zabihullah Amiri, a spokesperson for Badakhshan’s provincial government, told Reuters a team had been sent to the location of the crash, a remote area more than 200 km (124 miles) from the provincial capital Fayzabad.

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Afghan official slams Shehbaz Sharif’s ‘shameful’ claims on Islamic unity

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Khubaib Ghufran, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information and Culture, sharply criticized Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over his recent claims about Islamic unity in relation to the war in Iran, calling them “shameful.”

On his X account, Ghaffran wrote: “You praised Trump as a hero of the Gaza peace plan, yet today you claim Islamic unity regarding Iran in a war that the same criminal (Trump) and his allies initiated?”

He added that while Afghanistan is governed under an Islamic system, Shehbaz Sharif has shown no compassion even toward the most vulnerable groups—from children to women and drug addicts—and that this cruelty persisted even during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ghaffran described Sharif’s stance as a “grave shame” and a stark example of “historical hypocrisy.”

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Airstrike on Kabul drug rehabilitation centre sparks legal concerns

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, Isabelle Lassee, said the scale of casualties suggests the presence of a significant civilian population at the site.

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An airstrike on a drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul has drawn sharp criticism from Amnesty International, raising serious questions about compliance with international humanitarian law.

The strike, carried out on 16 March, targeted a site at Camp Phoenix, a former military base that has functioned largely as a rehabilitation centre since 2016. Pakistani officials have claimed the attack was aimed at an ammunition depot allegedly located within the compound.

Responding to those claims, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, Isabelle Lassee, said the scale of casualties suggests the presence of a significant civilian population at the site.

“While the total number of casualties has yet to be independently verified, it is clear that the attack caused extensive civilian harm, with reports indicating hundreds killed or injured,” she said.

Lassee emphasized that the facility was widely known to house civilians undergoing treatment, and warned that any military action should have taken this into account. “Pakistan’s military should have taken all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians and civilian infrastructure,” she added.

She further noted that even if a military target had been present within the compound, international law requires that any strike be proportionate, ensuring that civilian harm is not excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.

“The scale of destruction raises serious concerns about whether an adequate proportionality assessment was conducted and whether sufficient steps were taken to verify the target and minimize civilian casualties,” Lassee said.

Amnesty International has called on Pakistani authorities to disclose the intelligence behind the strike and to launch an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the incident. The organization stressed that findings should be made public to ensure accountability.

The group also urged all parties involved in the conflict to adhere strictly to international humanitarian law and to protect civilian infrastructure, including medical and rehabilitation facilities.

The airstrike formed part of Pakistan’s “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq,” which included strikes in both Kabul and Nangarhar Province. The targeted rehabilitation centre, known as Omid, reportedly had the capacity to accommodate around 2,000 individuals.

Casualty figures remain contested. Islamic Emirate officials claim more than 400 civilians were killed and over 200 injured, though these numbers have not been independently verified. The United Nations has so far confirmed 143 deaths.

The strike comes amid escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least 76 civilian casualties had already been recorded since the conflict intensified in February.

Pakistani officials, meanwhile, reported civilian casualties on their side of the border, including four deaths in Bajaur district on 15 March and the killing of a child in North Waziristan earlier in the month, allegedly due to cross-border fire from Afghanistan.

The latest developments underscore growing concerns about civilian safety as hostilities between the two countries continue to intensify.

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Afghanistan expresses condolences after deadly helicopter crash in Qatar

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has expressed condolences to the governments and people of Qatar and Turkey following a deadly helicopter crash in Qatar.

In a statement, the ministry described the incident as tragic and extended its deep sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives.

According to reports, the helicopter crashed into Qatari territorial waters, killing seven people. Authorities have said the incident was caused by a technical malfunction.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry also prayed for the victims and wished patience and strength for their families.

 
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