Afghanistan says Pakistan hit Kabul rehab center killing 408, Islamabad rejects claim

Afghanistan says Pakistan hit Kabul rehab center killing 408, Islamabad rejects claim

The Afghan Taliban government’s spokesperson reported on Tuesday that more than 400 individuals lost their lives and 265 were injured in an airstrike conducted by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation facility in Kabul. This incident marks the most severe event since hostilities between the two nations resumed in October of last year.

Pakistan swiftly contested the report, calling it “false and misleading.” Officials claimed the strike had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure,” emphasizing that the attack occurred at 9 p.m. Monday, according to their timeline.

China’s recent mediation efforts to ease tensions between the countries came just hours before the airstrike. The nation expressed readiness to continue facilitating talks, urging both sides to resume negotiations. Previous attempts by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia had ended in failure.

“Afghanistan has lost trust in Pakistan’s intentions regarding a diplomatic solution,” stated Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, in an official release. The conflict has reached its most intense phase since the two South Asian Islamic neighbors became adversaries.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a Taliban deputy spokesman, shared details of the attack via X, noting that the targeted site was the state-run Omid Hospital—a 2,000-bed facility for drug treatment. However, Pakistan’s information ministry disputed this, asserting the hospital was miles away from Camp Phoenix, which they labeled a “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site.”

“The visible secondary detonations after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots,” said Attaullah Tarar, the Pakistani Information Minister, in a post on X. The discrepancy between the two narratives remains unresolved.

Kabul residents, including a Reuters journalist, described Camp Phoenix as an abandoned NATO military base repurposed into a drug treatment center about a decade ago. Locals referred to it as Omid Camp, or “camp of hope,” though its official designation was “Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital.”

According to Afghan authorities, 408 people were killed and 265 wounded in the attack. The Interior ministry’s spokesman, Abdul Mateen Qanie, confirmed the casualty figures, while another Taliban official, Hafizullah Maroof, added that at least 102 bodies were transported to Kabul’s Forensic Medical Department. Most of the victims were civilians and addicts, noted Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman.

Witnesses recounted hearing three bombs explode during evening prayers at the center. The blasts struck rooms and patient areas, leading to a “doomsday” scene as the facility ignited in flames, said Ahmad, a 5-year-old survivor.

“We visited the hospital treating addicts in Kabul this morning and found hundreds of civilians dead and injured,” stated the Norwegian Refugee Council, an independent aid organization, in a statement.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed dozens were killed and injured, urging immediate de-escalation. Meanwhile, the EU highlighted that civilian and medical facilities are protected under international law, condemning the strike as “another deadly escalation in a conflict that needs to end as soon as possible.”