The airstrike occurred on the 27th day of Ramadan at the 2,000-bed facility, a former NATO base converted about a decade ago. Witnesses described horrific scenes of the building burning, its roof collapsing, and patients screaming. According to The Independent, a patient named Ahmad said it was like 'doomsday' and his friends were burning.
Rescue teams searched for bodies in the rubble, and visuals showed heaps of debris, broken bunk beds, charred pillows, and personal belongings. At Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Hospital, families frantically searched for loved ones; a mother screamed her son's name, and according to The Independent, a relative named Khan Wazir said they had been searching since morning without knowing what happened to their patients. Afghan interior ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qanie said some bodies were completely destroyed, collected almost like pieces of flesh.
It was like doomsday. My friends were burning.
The health ministry spokesperson, Sharafat Zaman, initially gave a preliminary death toll of 200 in a TV interview, while AFP reporters counted at least 30 bodies at the site. The BBC could not independently verify the toll of more than 400 but was told by sources that more than 100 had been killed. A mass funeral was held for victims, with some bodies unidentifiable and coffins containing remains of more than one person; the health ministry spokesman said remains of more than 50 victims could not be identified.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information said the strikes precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, not a hospital. Military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry claimed the facility was likely a training facility for suicide bombers, alleging drug addicts are used as suicide bombers. The ministry stamped 'propaganda' on a Taliban spokesman's post.
We have been searching since morning without knowing what happened to our patients.
Pakistan's military has not acknowledged civilian casualties. The BBC previously reported from the rehabilitation centre in 2023, speaking to addicts receiving care. The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan began in late February.
' The Taliban deny that their territory is being used against Pakistan. Pakistan bombed several military targets inside Afghanistan early Friday, including in Kabul and Kandahar. Afghanistan's Taliban government accused Pakistan of targeting homes in overnight airstrikes, killing at least six civilians, while Pakistan's state-run television reported successful strikes on four alleged militant hideouts.
We are now in an open war with you.
Afghanistan's Defence Ministry claimed its air force responded by targeting Pakistani military installations in Kohat district, but Pakistan's Information Ministry rejected this as baseless, saying Pakistani forces shot down three drones. A Pakistani mortar shell killed a woman and a child in Nangarhar province, and a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in Lakki Marwat. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said at least four civilians, including children, were killed and 15 injured in the city.
The conflict reignited five months after a ceasefire, with new fighting since October. Diplomatic efforts by China and Turkey to broker a ceasefire have failed. A five-day ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr was brokered by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar.
The tone from the Taliban is harsh, and they will respond extensively.
Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar said the ceasefire would end on Tuesday and operations would resume if there were attacks. Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed the ceasefire but did not specify a timeframe. Despite trilateral talks between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China, the latest in August, bilateral relations are again in crisis.
The Afghan Taliban's return to power in August 2021 has led to the resurgence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which emerged in 2007 and waged terror across Pakistan for a decade. There has been a surge in attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban took Kabul. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups, mainly the Pakistani Taliban, and allying with India.
Afghans primarily want peace, but many older people have lived most of their lives in war.
The Haqqani network is thriving in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and has historically had contact and support from Pakistan's ISI. Pakistan has launched aerial strikes against alleged TTP sanctuaries, representing a shift from its traditional counterinsurgency practices. The Afghan Taliban persistently denies TTP's presence and refuses to take counter-measures, exposing a deeper ideological alignment.
Islamabad's decades-long policy of supporting the Afghan Taliban seems to have reached an end. In 2025, Field Martial General Asim Munir declared his preference for making Pakistan a 'hard state' that responds to internal and external aggression with strong military retaliation. In October 2025, following escalating militant attacks, Pakistan carried out strikes on the outskirts of Kabul to target TTP leadership.
I prefer making Pakistan a 'hard state' that responds to internal and external aggression with strong military retaliation.
With mediation by Qatar and Türkiye, the temperature was subsequently lowered, but only temporarily. Pakistan's heightened focus on the Afghan Taliban and recent strikes represent a 'new normal' in the country's security posture. The most recent wave of violence was instigated by an upsurge in attacks on Pakistani soldiers, directed at military posts along the frontier.
Islamabad's retaliation indicates its frustration since it believes Kabul neither has the intent nor the ability to contain TTP. Pakistan's retaliatory attacks were conducted when the Afghan Foreign Minister was on an official visit to India; some analysts believe this prompted Pakistan to intensify its military activities. The close political affiliations between the two Taliban groups explain Kabul's reluctance to take a stand against TTP, as any decisive move would destroy the cohesion and internal unity of the Afghan Taliban.
The Taliban conundrum is straining Pakistan's internal security, as the nation is already engaged on the eastern front and struggling with political and economic challenges. Pakistan does not wish to escalate the conflict into a full-blown border war. The conflict is the most dangerous flare-up in decades and comes amid US threats on Iran and Russia's war on Ukraine.
Pakistan's president warned Afghanistan had 'crossed a red line' by launching drone attacks on civilian areas. Pakistan said falling debris from intercepted drones injured two children in Quetta and two people elsewhere. The UN Security Council called on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to step up efforts to combat terrorism.
The Taliban are at a military disadvantage against Pakistan's nuclear arsenal but have leftover US military equipment and may use terror as a strategy in response. According to Göteborgs-Posten, Kajsa Johansson of the Swedish Afghanistan Committee said the tone from the Taliban is harsh and they will respond extensively, but Afghans primarily want peace, though many older people have lived most of their lives in war. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is volatile, mistrustful, and one of the most vulnerable regions in South Asia.