India on Tuesday strongly condemned Pakistan for the airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul, which killed hundreds and injured many. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson urged the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable, extended condolences to the bereaved families, and said India stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.
The spokesperson said India “unequivocally condemns Pakistan’s barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16.” The statement called the attack “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.”
India described the strike as a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability, saying it reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and attempts to externalise internal failures through acts of violence beyond its borders. The MEA noted that the attack took place during the holy month of Ramzan, calling it “all the more reprehensible” and saying “There is no faith, no law, and no morality that can justify the deliberate targeting of a hospital and its patients.”
The statement urged the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable and to ensure that Pakistan’s targeting of civilians in Afghanistan ceases. It concluded by offering India’s deepest condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to the injured, reaffirming solidarity with the Afghan people, and reiterating support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Afghan authorities said about 400 people were killed in the airstrike at the treatment centre for drug addicts. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, said the strike was carried out by Pakistan at around 9 pm on Monday on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility. He said large sections of the hospital were destroyed and that rescue teams were battling fires and recovering bodies, with around 250 people reported injured.
Tolo News reported that this was not the first time Pakistani forces had targeted civilians in Afghanistan, citing earlier incidents involving women and children in various provinces. Khaama Press said Kabul residents reported damage to dozens of homes from the explosions and cited sources saying a Pakistani aircraft bombed a Taliban military facility in Ghani Khel district of Nangarhar province late Monday.
Pakistani outlet Samaa News, quoting security sources, reported that Pakistani armed forces carried out airstrikes in Kabul and Nangarhar targeting Taliban-linked facilities, saying strikes in Kabul destroyed “technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities.” Those security sources denied striking the drug hospital and described Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid’s statement as “ridiculous.”
