Hundreds Feared Dead in Alleged Pakistani Airstrike on Kabul Hospital

KABUL, March 17, 2026 — A devastating airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul has left at least 400 people dead and another 250 injured, according to Afghan officials. The strike, which occurred on the night of March 16, has ignited a firestorm of international condemnation and a sharp denial from Islamabad, further escalating the “open war” between the two neighbors.

The Attack on Omid Hospital

The strike targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility located in the eastern District 9 of Kabul. Witnesses described a scene of “doomsday” as fires broke out across the complex following the explosions around 9:00 PM local time.

• Casualties: Afghan Deputy Government Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed the toll, stating that large sections of the hospital were obliterated.
• The Victims: Most of those killed were patients undergoing rehabilitation. The facility, a former U.S. military base, served thousands of people from across the capital.
• Historical Context: With 400 reported dead, this incident marks one of the deadliest tragedies in modern Afghan history, comparable in scale to the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.

Pakistan’s Official Response

Pakistan has categorically denied targeting any civilian infrastructure. In a statement released shortly after the reports surfaced, the Pakistani Ministry of Information and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office dismissed the claims as “baseless” and “false.”

What Pakistan Claims:

• Precision Targeting: Islamabad asserts that its air force conducted “precise strikes” as part of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, aimed solely at military installations and “terrorist support infrastructure.”
• Target Sites: According to the Pakistani Information Ministry, the operation hit ammunition depots and technical equipment storage used by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants based in Kabul and Nangarhar Province.
• Denial of Collateral Damage: Pakistani officials accused the Taliban government of spreading misinformation to cover up their support for cross-border militancy, even suggesting that the fire at the rehabilitation center may not have been caused by their ordnance.

Escalating Tensions: “Open War”

The strike follows weeks of intensifying border clashes that have killed dozens on both sides. Tensions have reached a breaking point as Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing a safe haven for TTP fighters who launch attacks into Pakistani territory.

“There is no faith, no law, and no morality that can justify the deliberate targeting of a hospital and its patients,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated, joining a chorus of nations condemning the act.

The incident occurred during the holy month of Ramadan, a timing that has drawn particularly sharp criticism from regional leaders and humanitarian organizations. As rescue teams continue to pull bodies from the rubble of the Omid hospital, the threat of a full-scale regional conflict looms larger than ever.