Pakistan Air Strike Kills 400 at Kabul Drug Rehabilitation Hospital, Taliban Says

A devastating air strike allegedly carried out by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul has left at least 400 people dead and 250 others wounded, according to an Afghan Taliban government spokesman. The attack, which struck the state-run Omid Hospital on Monday night, marks one of the most severe escalations in the ongoing conflict between the two neighboring nations.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed the strike hit the 2,000-bed rehabilitation center at approximately 9 p.m. local time, reducing large portions of the facility to rubble and triggering intense fires. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and devastation, with rescue teams working through the night to pull victims from the wreckage. "When I arrived, I saw that everything was burning, people were burning," said ambulance driver Haji Fahim.

Pakistan's government firmly denied striking a civilian medical facility, insisting its military operations precisely targeted Taliban and Pakistani Taliban militant infrastructure — including ammunition depots and technical equipment storage — in Kabul and Nangarhar provinces. Islamabad accused the Taliban of misrepresenting the attack to manipulate public sentiment and obscure what it calls cross-border terrorist activity launched from Afghan soil.

The deadly incident comes as hostilities between the two countries, which share a 2,600-kilometer border, have surged to historically dangerous levels following Pakistani air strikes last month that Afghanistan condemned as violations of its sovereignty. Despite mediation efforts by China and other regional allies urging both sides to return to dialogue and avoid further escalation, the violence has continued to intensify.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed deep concern over civilian casualties, calling on both nations to exercise maximum restraint and uphold international humanitarian law, particularly regarding the protection of hospitals and non-combatants.