Kabul Hospital Strike: Afghanistan Claims Pakistan Attack Left 400 Dead, 250 Injured; Islamabad Denies

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of launching airstrikes on a Kabul drug treatment hospital, claiming more than 400 deaths and heavy destruction. Pakistan has rejected that charge, insisting its forces hit only military and "terrorist" facilities in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan, as tensions between the neighbours escalate into what some Pakistani officials describe as an "open war".

Pakistan Airstrikes Kabul's Hospital

Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman told local television, according to AP, that the hospital for drug addicts in Kabul was completely destroyed. Deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat later raised the reported death toll to 400, with 250 others injured, saying casualties mainly involved people inside the treatment centre when the explosions occurred.

Taliban Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that the Pakistani military had "once again violated Afghan territory," labelling the strikes "a crime" and an "act of inhumanity." Mujahid said most of the dead and wounded were addicts undergoing treatment. In Kabul, administrative deputy prime minister Abdul Salam Hanafi said defending national sovereignty was the responsibility of every citizen.

Hanafi, speaking at a meeting with political analysts and media representatives, said the conflict had been forced on Afghanistan and expressed sorrow over civilian deaths blamed on recent Pakistani attacks. Kabul officials also said Pakistan had previously hit two sites in Kandahar province, including an empty security compound and a drug rehabilitation centre that suffered only minor structural damage.

Islamabad Denied Airstrikes: 'Terrorist' Sites Were Target

Pakistan's Ministry of Information stated that its latest strikes "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban" and Afghanistan-based Pakistani militants in Kabul and Nangarhar. It said these locations "were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians" and stressed that the operation focused on what Islamabad considers hostile networks.

The ministry further claimed the targeting was "precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted." Officials said the Taliban spokesman's accusations were "false and misleading" and intended to inflame public opinion while diverting attention from what Pakistan described as Kabul's "illegitimate support for cross-border terrorism." Afghanistan has consistently denied sheltering armed groups that attack Pakistan.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Tension: Airstrikes follow clashes, drones and Kandahar strikes

Pakistan's military has attacked Kabul several times in recent weeks, amid growing friction over claims that Afghanistan's Taliban government gives sanctuary to fighters who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistani representatives have repeatedly insisted their forces only hit Afghan border posts and militant bases, and have characterised the confrontation as an "open war".

Rising Casualties in Afghanistan–Pakistan Border Areas

President Asif Ali Zardari said Afghanistan's Taliban administration crossed a "red line" when it deployed drones that injured several civilians in Pakistan last week. In response, Pakistan's air force struck equipment storage facilities and "technical support infrastructure" in Afghanistan's Kandahar province over the weekend, saying these places supported attacks on Pakistani territory.

Residents of Kabul reported loud blasts around 9:00 p.m. local time, with thick smoke seen rising from the Shahr-e-Naw and Wazir Akbar Khan districts. Local television showed firefighters battling extensive flames among the building's debris. The hospital, which specialised in treating drug addicts, was left in ruins, according to Afghan officials and journalists who visited the scene.