An Afghan publication has confirmed that Pakistan’s military targeted only specific Taliban-linked sites during a recent strike in Kabul, dismissing claims of civilian infrastructure being hit.
According to sources cited by Afghanistan International, Pakistani officials stated that the operation conducted on Monday night targeted a camp associated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan—referred to as “Fitna al-Khawarij”—and Afghan Taliban elements near Camp Phoenix.
The report further alleged that following the strikes, the Afghan Taliban set fire to a nearby drug rehabilitation hospital. Taliban authorities, however, claimed the facility was destroyed in the bombing.
Published images reportedly show the hospital building engulfed in flames while its signboard remained intact, raising questions about the Taliban’s version of events.
The Taliban also alleged that hundreds of people were killed in the attack on the rehabilitation center but did not release visual evidence supporting such high casualty figures.
According to the report, a video circulated by Taliban media included a individual stating that Pakistani aircraft struck targets approximately 200 meters away from the drug treatment clinic, suggesting the facility itself was not directly hit.
Pakistan Rejects Taliban Claims of Kabul Hospital Strike
Federal Minister for Information Ataa Tarar stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the recent allegations by the Afghan Taliban claiming Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul are entirely false.
According to Minister Tarar, Pakistan’s ongoing counter-terrorism operations focus exclusively on military and terrorist targets, including locations involved in planning, facilitating, sheltering, training, or supporting attacks inside Pakistan.
He emphasized that the airstrikes conducted on the night of 16 March 2026 in Kabul and Nangarhar were precise, professional, and carefully planned. No hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers, or civilian sites were targeted. All six strikes were directed solely at military and terrorist infrastructure.
Video footage released immediately by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Pakistan confirmed the operations, showing that secondary explosions and fires at the sites aligned with strikes on weapons storage facilities, not civilian centers.
Minister Tarar described the Taliban’s latest accusations as part of a continuing pattern of false propaganda. He reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to defending its citizens, neutralizing terrorist capabilities, and preventing cross-border safe havens from being used against the country, particularly in Taliban-controlled areas where children and drug-addicted individuals are being exploited for extremist purposes, including suicide attacks.
