- By Kamakshi Bishnoi
- Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:38 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The death toll from an alleged Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul has risen sharply, Afghan officials said on Tuesday, amid escalating tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, stated in a post on X that at least 400 people were killed and around 250 were injured after the strike late Monday night. Fitrat claimed that large parts of the hospital were destroyed, and the rescue teams have been working to control fires and recover bodies from the debris.
The Pakistani military regime carried out an airstrike at approximately 9:00 PM this evening on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to the treatment of drug addiction. As a result of the attack, large sections of the hospital have been destroyed,…
— Hamdullah Fitratحمدالله فطرت (@FitratHamd) March 16, 2026
Earlier on Monday, Afghanistan’s Health Ministry, Sharafat Zaman, reported over 200 deaths, claiming the entire facility was devastated.
"Targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors." In a post before the death toll rose into the hundreds, he said those killed and injured were patients at the hospital. We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity," Afghanistan’s government spokesperson said, condemning the strike.
Pakistan Dismisses Allegations
Pakistan, however, strongly denied targeting any civilian infrastructure, with the officials maintaining that the strikes in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan were aimed solely at militant positions. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, claiming Afghanistan’s claims ‘false’, said that the operations "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of the Afghan Taliban."
This is not Gaza or Iran, it’s Afghanistan.
— Globe Observer (@_GlobeObserver) March 16, 2026
Pakistan carried out a airstrike on a rehab hospital in Kabul, killing over 200 people and injuring around 170, says fghan Health Ministry. pic.twitter.com/xMrcU9MGjN
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday claimed that the military has killed 684 Afghan Taliban forces. The claim was rejected by Afghanistan's Taliban-led government, calling the casualties far lower. As per Afghanistan's Defence Ministry and other officials, Afghanistan has killed more than 100 Pakistani soldiers.
The incident comes amid a sharp escalation in cross-border hostilities. In recent weeks, Clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have intensified, with both sides reporting casualties. Afghan officials said earlier that four people, including two children, were killed in shelling in Khost province.
You May Also Like To Watch:
