At least 100 people are killed in a Pakistan airstrike at a drug recovery facility in Kabul.

According to forensic laboratory sources who spoke to the news sources , a Pakistani airstrike on a drug treatment facility in the capital of Afghanistan killed over 100 individuals. According to officials at the Kabul Forensic Medicine department, some of the bodies had unrecognizable injuries. Taliban leaders have significantly increased the number of casualties. A prompt probe was demanded by the UN.

Pakistan claimed to have “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” and denied intentionally attacking the facility.  Last month, the cross-border violence erupted again. Pakistan said Afghanistan was harboring militants who assaulted its territory, a claim Kabul refuted.

The airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital was denounced by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), who claimed Pakistani armed troops were responsible. “Unama reiterates its call for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire, and for parties to comply with their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians,” a statement said.

Officials at the rehab center estimate that about 2,000 people were receiving treatment there, and they think there may have been hundreds of casualties. Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail, a spokeswoman for the Afghan health ministry, told that the rehabilitation facility was not close to any military installations.

Around 20:50 (16:20 GMT), locals in Kabul reported hearing heavy explosions, followed by the sound of airplanes and air defense systems. Outside, relatives of patients receiving care at the facility had gathered in a desperate attempt to learn more about their loved ones.  A spokesperson for the Taliban leadership said that at least 400 people had died, although the figures were not independently confirmed. On Monday night, a reporter on the site witnessed around thirty dead being brought out on stretchers.

The strikes in Kabul and the eastern province of Nangarhar were described as “precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted” by Pakistan’s communications ministry. Afghanistan’s claim was rejected as a “misreporting of facts… [that] seeks to stir sentiments, covering illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism.” 

The area where the strike took place was once a US military base and was a well-known drug user hangout. When the Taliban retook control of the area in August 2021, they converted it into a drug rehab facility that housed people who had been apprehended from all across the capital.  Even on Tuesday, rescuers were still looking for survivors. The depth of the destruction was evident in the morning, with charred, blown-out windows next to flattened wreckage covered in blankets and shoes.

The two sides agreed to a shaky ceasefire in October, but the most recent violence comes after months of fighting. According to Unama, ongoing cross-border conflict between the two nations between February 26 and March 13 resulted in at least 75 deaths and 193 injuries in Afghanistan. 

China, which has made an effort to reduce tensions, reported that its Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, had called his counterparts in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the previous week.  Beijing urged the two nations to “remain calm and exercise restraint [and to] engage face to face” as soon as possible, calling for a truce “at the earliest opportunity” on Monday.

India on Tuesday strongly condemned Pakistani airstrike on a hospital in Kabul, calling it a “barbaric” and “cowardly” act.

In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India “unequivocally condemns Pakistan’s barbaric airstrike” on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16.

The MEA said that “the attack was carried out during the holy month of Ramzan, a time of peace, reflection, and mercy among Muslim communities across the world, makes it all the more reprehensible. There is no faith, no law, and no morality that can justify the deliberate targeting of a hospital and its patients.”

“This is a cowardly and unconscionable act of violence that has claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility which can by no means be justified as a military target,” the MEA said, adding that the “heinous act of aggression by Pakistan is also a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability. It reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and its repeated attempts to externalize internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence beyond its borders.”