Full Breakdown
Pakistan’s March 2026 Airstrike on Kabul’s Omid Rehabilitation Center Raises War-Crime Allegations
7/23/2026, 7:48:36 AM
Core Event
On March 16, 2026, the Pakistani military bombed the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center in Kabul. The strike occurred at around 9 p.m., shortly after evening Tarawih prayers, when more than 1,000 patients were reported to be inside the facility. Amnesty International’s four-month investigation recorded at least 269 civilian deaths and 122 injuries. Witnesses described thick smoke, collapsing buildings, and a dining hall where many victims were gathered for dinner.
Background & Context
Pakistan’s air campaign against Afghanistan intensified after border clashes with the Taliban in October 2025. A cease-fire agreed in October 2025 collapsed in February 2026, after which Pakistan resumed strikes across Afghan provinces. The Omid Center, established in 2016 on a former NATO base and expanded to a 2,000-bed treatment hospital after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, was one of the country’s largest civilian drug-treatment facilities.
Data & Statistics
- Facility capacity: 2,000 beds; over 1,000 patients present on the night of the strike.
- Casualties: Amnesty International – 269 dead, 122 wounded; Taliban claim – about 400 dead; UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)) independently verified 269 deaths.
- Evidence reviewed: >60 photographs and videos, >30 satellite images, 11 interviews with staff, neighboring hospital personnel, emergency responders, and victims’ families.
- Civilian toll from Pakistani airstrikes since October 2025: UNAMA documents >750 civilian casualties (372 deaths, 378 injuries).
Official Statements & Responses
- Taliban government: Reported roughly 400 fatalities at the Omid Center.
- UNAMA: Confirmed 269 civilian deaths and called for a swift, independent investigation.
- Amnesty International: Concluded the center had no evidence of weapons storage or any military use at the time of the attack and noted the absence of any warning to the facility. The organization warned that failure to investigate could entrench impunity for violations of international humanitarian law.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This was a lethal failure by Pakistan to comply with its obligation to do everything feasible to verify whether the target was a military objective,” — Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia
- “Pakistan must urgently conduct a transparent, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the attack, especially the decision-making process that led to the targeting of the facility, and make the results public,” — Ms Lassee, Amnesty International’s Acting Regional Director for South Asia
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Casualty figures: The Taliban’s estimate of ?400 deaths contrasts with UNAMA’s verification of 269 deaths, which aligns with Amnesty’s count. No independent source corroborates the higher figure.
- Target justification: Pakistan maintains the site housed ammunition, yet Amnesty’s analysis of satellite imagery, photographs, and eyewitness testimony found no evidence of such storage. The claim remains unsubstantiated.
Official Calls for Investigation
Both Amnesty International and UNAMA have urged a transparent, independent, and impartial probe into the strike, emphasizing the need to determine decision-making processes and hold accountable any parties found responsible. No specific timeline for such an investigation has been announced.
