Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of deadly air strike on drug rehab centre in Kabul

A Pakistani airstrike purportedly hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing civilians. Read more at straitstimes.com.

KABUL – At least 400 people were killed and 250 injured in an air strike by Pakistan on a drug users rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the deputy spokesman of the Afghan Taliban government said on March 17, reported Reuters.

Pakistan denied deliberately targeting the facility, instead saying it had conducted precision strikes on “military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.

The Pakistani military has struck Kabul several times in recent weeks, as part of a conflict sparked by claims that the Taliban government has harboured extremists who have carried out attacks across the border.

Loud explosions rocked the city at 9pm local time on March 16, prompting return anti-aircraft fire and forcing locals to run for cover in panic as they were out and about after breaking their daily Ramadan fast.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that the Pakistani military had “once again violated Afghan territory”, calling the strikes “a crime” and an “act of inhumanity”.

Once anti-aircraft guns stopped at about 10pm local time, an AFP team was able to reach the rehabilitation centre and saw fleets of ambulances and firefighters brought in to douse flames in burning and destroyed buildings.