At least 400 people died and around 250 others were injured when a Pakistani airstrike struck the Omid rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital late Monday, Afghan officials said, as cross-border tensions between the two neighbours escalated sharply.
The state-run facility, which treats drug addiction and offers vocational training, was hit around 9 p.m. during evening prayers, causing large sections of the complex to collapse and triggering a massive fire that engulfed patients and staff. Secondary explosions suggested the possible presence of ammunition depots.
Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said rescue operations were continuing and warned that the death toll could rise further. “Large parts of the hospital have been destroyed, and there are fears of heavy casualties,” he added.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar insisted the strikes targeted “military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”. He rejected Afghan claims of deliberate civilian targeting, describing them as “misreporting of facts” aimed at concealing alleged support for cross-border militancy.
An eyewitness who identified himself only as Ahmad, a 50-year-old patient, recounted the horror: “The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday. My friends were burning in the fire, and we could not save them all.”
Another witness, ambulance driver Haji Fahim, said: “When I arrived, everything was burning, people were burning. They called me again in the morning because there were still bodies trapped under the rubble.”
United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett expressed dismay and called on all parties to respect international law: “I am dismayed by reports of civilian casualties,” he said, urging protection for civilians and critical infrastructure including hospitals.
The incident, the latest in a month of intensifying border clashes, came hours after China urged restraint and offered to mediate between Kabul and Islamabad. Independent verification of the casualty figures remained impossible because of restricted access to the site.
