Pakistan has rejected the charge, insisting its military targeted only militant infrastructure and denying any strike on medical facilities.
BY PC Bureau
March 17, 2026: At least 400 people were killed and around 250 others injured after a devastating airstrike hit a major hospital in Kabul late Monday night, according to officials of the Taliban. The strike, which Afghanistan claims was carried out by Pakistan, has sharply escalated tensions between the two neighbours already locked in weeks of cross-border hostilities.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, said the attack struck a large drug rehabilitation hospital at around 9 pm local time. The facility—one of the largest of its kind with a capacity of nearly 2,000 beds—was reportedly reduced to rubble in several sections, trapping patients and staff under debris.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos, with emergency responders struggling through the night to pull survivors from the wreckage. Many of the victims were said to be patients undergoing treatment for addiction, raising concerns about the high civilian toll.
Senior Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strike in strong terms, accusing Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. “The Pakistani military regime has once again violated Afghanistan’s airspace and attacked a medical facility,” he said, calling the incident “a crime against humanity” and a violation of international norms.
Islamabad, however, firmly rejected the allegations. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the Pakistani military had conducted “precision airstrikes” aimed solely at militant infrastructure. According to him, the targets included ammunition depots and logistical facilities in Kabul and the eastern province of Nangarhar. He insisted that no hospital or civilian site was intentionally struck.
“All operations were carried out with precision against infrastructure used to support terrorist proxies,” Tarar said, dismissing Kabul’s claims as “baseless.”
This is not Gaza or Iran, it’s Afghanistan.
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
— Globe Observer (@_GlobeObserver) March 16, 2026
The incident comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries. Hours before the strike, Afghan officials reported renewed cross-border shelling along the frontier, which killed at least four people. The ongoing clashes mark the most intense fighting in years between the neighbours.
The current phase of conflict began in late February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes following earlier Pakistani air raids that Kabul said had killed civilians. A fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar last October has since collapsed, giving way to sustained military exchanges.
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Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has described the situation as an “open war,” underscoring the gravity of the escalation.
With both sides trading accusations and no immediate signs of de-escalation, fears are mounting that the conflict could spiral further, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and destabilising the wider region.
