Pakistan-Afghanistan War Highlights: Pak strike on Kabul rehab kills 408; China expresses concern, calls for ceasefire

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed condolences to the families of victims following an airstrike allegedly carried out by Pakistan’s military regime on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul. The UN mission said civilians are bearing the brunt of rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It stressed that international law requires all parties in a conflict to protect the sick and wounded, as well as healthcare workers, hospitals and ambulances. UNAMA also renewed its call for de-escalation and an immediate ceasefire, urging both sides to respect international humanitarian law and ensure civilian protection, TOLONews reported.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said the agency is working to verify reports of an airstrike on a drug rehabilitation facility in Afghanistan.

He warned that escalating hostilities are straining the country’s fragile health system and endangering vulnerable populations. The WHO noted that at least six health facilities have reportedly been affected since late February amid tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, TOLOnews reported.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, expressed concern over Pakistan’s military regime carrying out an attack in Afghanistan. He said dialogue and negotiations are the only effective way to resolve disputes and urged both sides to immediately agree to a ceasefire. Lin added that China will continue using its channels to help ease tensions and improve relations between the two countries, TOLOnews reported.

Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf, former Member of the House of the People of Afghanistan, has condemned the Pakistani military regime’s airstrike on a drug treatment center in Kabul, calling it an act against the Afghan people rather than the current government. He described the strike as inhumane and against Islamic teachings, strongly denouncing the attack, TOLOnews reported.

More than 50 bodies are feared to be trapped under the rubble at a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul following a bombing by Pakistan’s military regime, local health officials said. Rescue teams are continuing search operations at the site as authorities work to recover victims from the debris, TOLOnews reported.

Pakistan’s armed forces carried out targeted strikes on Afghan Taliban posts in the Khyber sector using anti-tank guided missiles as part of “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq,” according to security sources. The operation aimed at positions linked to Fitna al-Khawarij and reportedly destroyed several identified posts, causing significant human and material losses. Authorities said the campaign will continue until all operational objectives are achieved, Pakistan's Geo News reported.

Pakistan's strike came hours after the UN Security Council called on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to immediately step up efforts to combat terrorism.

Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The core issue is militancy along the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering and supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies this, insisting it does not allow its soil to be used against other countries.

Border disputes also fuel the conflict. Pakistan wants to fence the Durand Line, the disputed border drawn during British rule. But Afghanistan has never formally recognised it. This has led to repeated conflicts. 

Pakistan said it carried out overnight airstrikes targeting Afghan Taliban positions in Kabul and Nangarhar, hitting what it described as military installations and terrorist infrastructure. According to figures shared by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday, 684 Afghan Taliban operatives were killed and 912 injured.

He added that 252 Taliban posts were destroyed, while 44 were captured and subsequently demolished. Tarar further claimed that 229 tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery guns belonging to the Taliban regime had been destroyed.

In total, Pakistan said nearly 73 locations linked to terrorists and their support infrastructure across Afghanistan were effectively targeted in the aerial operation.

Congress said the party condemns the attack on the hospital, which was an "act against humanity" in the "strongest possible terms" and "such barbarism must be strongly rejected globally".

"On behalf of the Indian National Congress, we are deeply distressed by the horrific loss of civilian lives in Kabul following the recent airstrikes by Pakistan on a hospital which killed nearly 400 people. We condemn such act against humanity in the strongest possible terms. Such barbarism must be strongly rejected globally," party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said. 

"My heartfelt condolences to our Afghan brothers and sisters and to the families who have lost their loved ones. India shares longstanding bonds of friendship and goodwill with the people of Afghanistan. In this difficult moment, we stand in sympathy with our Afghan neighbours and pray for peace, healing, and stability for their nation," he added. 

According to Afghanistan broadcaster TOLOnews, it was estimated that up to 50 bodies are still trapped in the Rabia Balkhi Hospital in Kabul.

At least 408 people were killed and 265 injured in the Pakistan attack on the hospital in Kabul, said an Afghan Taliban Interior Ministry spokesperson. 

Source: Reuters 

India has strongly condemned the Kabul attack, accusing Pakistan of attempting to portray a massacre as a military operation and calling it a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

Hundreds of mothers, sisters, fathers and brothers gathered outside the addiction treatment hospital in Kabul, waiting in anguish for news -- and in many cases, the bodies -- of their loved ones after the deadly strike.

The families were seen searching frantically, calling out names and scanning the wreckage for any sign of survivors.

India strongly condemned Pakistan's airstrikes on the Kabul hospital that killed 400, calling it a barbaric, cowardly, unconscionable act of violence. 

"India unequivocally condemns Pakistan's barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16. 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. Pakistan is now trying to dress up a massacre as a military operation," the Ministry of External Affairs said. 

The Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the Afghan Taliban's claim was "misreporting of facts".

"Pakistan’s targeting is precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted. This misreporting of facts as drug rehabilitation facility seeks to stir sentiments, covering illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism," it said in a post on X. 

Witnesses said they heard three bombs exploding just as people in the hospital were completing evening prayers and two of them struck rooms and patient areas.

"The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday. My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all," Ahmad, 50, who said he was under treatment at the facility, told Reuters. 

The attack reduced the drug rehabilitation hospital were reduced to rubbles, with a blackened single-storey structure bearing clear signs of fire damage. Nearby buildings were reduced to heaps of twisted wood and metal, while a few bunk beds remained standing amid the wreckage. Blankets, bedding and personal belongings lay scattered across the site, underscoring the scale of destruction.

"When I arrived (last night), I saw that everything was burning, people were burning," ambulance driver Haji Fahim told news agency Reuters. "Early in the morning they called me again and told me to come back because there are still bodies under the rubble."

Pakistan rejected the claim of civilian casualties as false and misleading and said it "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" on Monday night.