Pakistani Air Strike on Kabul Drug Rehab Center Kills Over 100

A Pakistani air strike struck a drug addiction treatment center in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday evening, killing more than 100 people according to forensic laboratory sources, in a dramatic escalation of the cross-border conflict between the two nations.

The strike hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital at approximately 8:50 p.m. local time, razing the facility — which housed roughly 2,000 patients undergoing drug rehabilitation — to the ground. Sources at Kabul's Forensic Medicine department told the BBC that many of the recovered bodies were damaged beyond recognition. Taliban government officials placed the death toll far higher, at 400 or more, though that figure has not been independently verified. A BBC reporter on scene witnessed more than 30 bodies carried out on stretchers Monday night, and rescue teams continued searching the flattened wreckage into Tuesday morning.

Pakistan's information ministry denied deliberately targeting the rehabilitation center, stating that its strikes in Kabul and the eastern province of Nangarhar were "precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted." Islamabad said it had targeted "military installations and terrorist support infrastructure," accusing Afghanistan of harboring militants responsible for attacks on Pakistani territory — a charge the Taliban government denies. Afghan health ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail countered that no military facilities existed near the treatment center.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan swiftly condemned the strike and called for an immediate ceasefire, urging both parties to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians. The escalation comes despite the two sides having agreed to a ceasefire in October. Between late February and mid-March alone, at least 75 people were killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan from continuing cross-border hostilities, according to UN figures. China, which has sought to mediate the conflict, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi had spoken by phone with both Afghan and Pakistani counterparts in recent days, urging restraint and face-to-face dialogue.

The targeted facility occupies the site of a former U.S. military base that had become a well-known gathering place for drug users in Kabul. After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the site was converted into a rehabilitation center for addicts rounded up from across the capital. On Tuesday morning, the scale of destruction was laid bare — flattened debris strewn with blankets and shoes beside charred, blown-out windows, with family members of patients gathered outside desperately seeking information about their loved ones.