Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban claim of Kabul hospital strike, calls it 'false and misleading'
Red Crescent volunteers carry the body of a victim who died in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan's claims that the country struck a rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing 400 people and injuring 250 others.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) took to X, terming the "misreporting of facts" as intended to "stir sentiments, covering illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism."
🔎 Fact Check | Ministry of Information and Broadcastingl
Above claim of this discredited so called spokesperson of Taliban regime is another misreporting of facts aimed at misleading public opinion.
◼️On night 16 March, Pakistan precisely targeted military installations and… pic.twitter.com/tscodXatzH— Fact Checker MoIB (@FactCheckerMoIB) March 16, 2026
The ministry thus rejected Afghanistan's claims as being "false and misleading," adding that on the night of March 16, "Pakistan precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij in Kabul and Nangarhar."
MoIB added, "Post strike detonation of stored ammunition being used by Master Terror Proxy also fully contradicts the fake claim."
Read: Precision strikes hit Taliban-linked sites in Kabul, Nangarhar
According to Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said the air strike took place at 9.00pm on Monday, targeting the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital.
The Pakistani military regime carried out an airstrike at approximately 9:00 PM this evening on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to the treatment of drug addiction. As a result of the attack, large sections of the hospital have been destroyed,…
— Hamdullah Fitratحمدالله فطرت (@FitratHamd) March 16, 2026
Fitrat wrote that "large sections" of the 2,000-bed facility had been destroyed, with "serious concerns about a high number of casualties." The spokesman stated that the death toll had reached 400, with 250 injured, adding that rescue teams were working to control the fire and recover remaining bodies.
MoIB, in response, tweeted that Omid Hospital was actually multiple kilometres away from Camp Phoenix, "the military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site precisely targeted last night." The ministry added, "It can also be well seen that the actual hospital is a multi-storied structure," comparing it to the "military/terrorist infrastructure actually targeted."
🔎 Fact Check | Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
◼️ Omid Hospital being claimed to be hit by Afghan Taliban regime in the tweet is actually multiple kilometres away from Camp Phoenix, the military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site precisely targeted last… pic.twitter.com/60hu3m2JZf— Fact Checker MoIB (@FactCheckerMoIB) March 17, 2026
"The difference and lie is clear to see," MoIB wrote. Further, it questioned, "Why would an alleged drug rehabilitation facility be co-located with lethal ammunition storage site in a military camp?"
Fitrat tweeted a picture of a crowd, saying, "Innocent civilians and addicts who were mostly killed last night at the 2,000-bed hospital due to the bombing by (Pakistani military circles)."
innocent civilians and addicts who were mostly killed last night at the 2,000-bed hospital due to the bombing by (Pakistani military circles).
Indeed, we belong to God and to Him we shall return. pic.twitter.com/gjbgTKGuUO— Hamdullah Fitratحمدالله فطرت (@FitratHamd) March 17, 2026
The information ministry responded by tweeting that the claim "circulated by the Afghan Taliban spokesperson using an old image to allege recent casualties is a clear case of deliberate disinformation."
This, it added, was aimed at misleading public perception. MoIB added that the image that has been presented is from May 2023 and had been shared by the Afghan Taliban interior ministry of the time. This, it said, exposed the falsehood of current claims.
Read More: China to continue mediation efforts between Pakistan, Afghanistan
"Recycling outdated visuals to support present-day allegations reflects a calculated attempt to fabricate a misleading narrative and create confusion regarding actual events," MoIB wrote. It added that such actions "undermine credibility and highlight a pattern of information manipulation through misrepresentation of archival material as current evidence."
The ministry concluded the tweet by saying that the Taliban regime's claim is "rejected as false and deceptive, intended to distort facts, mislead audiences, and serve propaganda objectives by projecting a fabricated version of events."
🔎 Fact Check | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
The claim circulated by Afghan Taliban spokesperson using an old image to allege recent casualties is a clear case of deliberate disinformation aimed at misleading public perception.
◼️The image being presented as… pic.twitter.com/pSHHHQGeZgIn yet another tweet, the information ministry attached pictures of the "Afghan official handle" deleting the first official post that claimed a drug rehab had been hit. It questioned whether the visuals were generated or AI that failed to stand being fact checked.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also tweeted against what he termed falsehood on part of the Afghan Taliban regime. “The Afghan Taliban regime is peddling yet another falsehood by alleging that Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul,” Tarar said, adding that the claim “is entirely baseless.”
The minister said that in the ongoing war against terrorism, Pakistan is “engaging only those military and terrorist targets, along with the infrastructure of the Afghan Taliban regime, that are being directly or indirectly used to plan, facilitate, shelter, train, or abet terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”
The strikes carried out on the night of March 16 in Kabul and Nangarhar, Tarar termed “precise, deliberate, and professional.” He stated, “No hospital, no drug rehabilitation centre, and no civilian facility was targeted.”
The targets, he wrote, were military and terrorist infrastructure. Further, the minister said, “All six strikes were promptly put out with video footage by MoIB, making the nature of the targets plain for all to see.” The visuals, he stated, leave no room for doubt.
The Afghan Taliban regime is peddling yet another falsehood by alleging that Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul. This claim is entirely baseless.
Pakistan, in its ongoing war against terrorism, is engaging only those military and terrorist targets, along…— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) March 17, 2026
Tarar added, “The current propaganda is coming from a regime whose officials have repeatedly relied on false narratives, doctored claims, selective deletions of earlier posts, and the circulation of old visuals to mislead audiences and cover up the truth.” Their latest allegation, he said, “is part of the same worn-out pattern of deceit.”
The minister further noted, “Pakistan, the region, and the wider world continue to face the grave threat of terrorism emanating from territory under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime.” This threat, he said “has become even more barbaric, with drug addicts and innocent children being exploited for heinous purposes, including suicide bombings.”
Tarar concluded, “Pakistan’s position is clear. We will continue to take every necessary measure to defend our citizens, degrade terrorist capability, and deny safe haven to those who wage terror against Pakistan from across the border.”
The development comes as Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched last month, continues following renewed clashes along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. It was launched after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.
The neighbouring countries have been engaged in escalating hostilities along the frontier since then. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting terrorist positions.