Pakistan has denied Taliban claims that its airstrike targeted a Kabul drug rehabilitation centre, even as Afghan officials say around 400 people were killed. Islamabad insists the strikes only hit terrorist infrastructure.
Pakistan on Tuesday rejected allegations from Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government that its military deliberately bombed a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, even as Afghan authorities said the strike may have killed around 400 people, making it one of the deadliest incidents in the latest round of tensions between the two neighbours.
Islamabad has insisted the operation targeted militant infrastructure, not civilians. But officials in Kabul say the attack flattened a treatment facility packed with patients battling addiction.
The starkly different accounts have deepened an already volatile standoff between the two countries.
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Pakistan Rejects Kabul’s Allegations
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar dismissed the accusations as unfounded and defended the air strikes as part of the country’s counter-terror campaign.
Tarar wrote on X that Pakistan carried out six strikes late Monday in Kabul and the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
“No hospital, no drug rehabilitation centre, and no civilian facility was targeted. The targets were military and terrorist infrastructure, including ammunition and technical equipment storage sites and other installations linked to hostile activity against Pakistan.”
He also described the operation as “precise, deliberate and professional”, saying it was aimed at preventing militant attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan Officials Report Hundreds Dead
Authorities in Kabul paint a drastically different picture.
According to Afghanistan’s health ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman, the strike hit a major drug rehabilitation centre in the capital where patients from across the country were undergoing treatment.
“The toll is not final as the rescue operation is still going on but we have around 400 martyrs and more than 200 wounded,” Zaman said, calling the strike “against the Geneva Convention and all international laws.”
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani provided a similar figure during the same briefing, saying 408 people were killed and 265 wounded.
The numbers could rise further as rescuers continue to dig through rubble.
UN Seeks Independent Probe
Meanwhile, the UN called for a swift and independent investigation after the Afghan government said a Pakistani strike on a Kabul drug rehabilitation clinic killed hundreds.
"Last night's tragic blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, that reportedly left scores of patients dead, must be investigated promptly, independently and transparently, and those responsible held to account in line with international standards," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva.
"Those results must be made public. Victims and victims' families are entitled to reparations," he said.
The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, also said he was “dismayed” by reports of civilian casualties and urged both countries to step back.
Families Search Desperately for Loved Ones
Outside the destroyed facility, families gathered in anguish, hoping for any news of relatives admitted for treatment.
Among them was Baryalai Amiri, a 38-year-old mechanic who said his brother had entered the centre about 25 days earlier.
“We are not given the proper information,” he said. “So far, we don’t know where he is.”
Another man, Habibullah Kabulbai, arrived looking for his brother Nawroz, who had been admitted only days earlier.
“I can't find him,” he said, weeping. “What should we do? I have no words... We are helpless. This has not only happened to me but the whole of Afghanistan.”
Clashes between Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan have intensified since February 26, with the UN confirming at least 75 civilian deaths during the recent escalation.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant groups responsible for deadly cross-border attacks, while Kabul denies providing safe haven.
No End to Conflict in Sight
Diplomatic efforts to calm tensions have struggled to gain traction.
China said its special envoy spent a week mediating between the two sides and called for an immediate ceasefire. But analysts warn the confrontation could intensify.
South Asia expert Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council said traditional mediators in the Gulf are currently distracted by their own regional conflict.
“Pakistan appears intent to keep hitting targets in Afghanistan, and the Taliban determined to retaliate with operations on Pakistani border posts and potentially with asymmetric tactics — from launching drones to sponsoring militant attacks in wider Pakistan,” he said.
“There are no off-ramps in sight.”
(With inputs from AFP)
