Pakistan missile strike on Kabul rehab centre deemed possible war crime

Amnesty International called for an investigation into a missile strike that flattened the Omid Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre in Kabul on 16 March, killing 269 people and wounding hundreds of patients receiving drug‑addiction treatment. The Pakistani government denied responsibility, claiming the target was the nearby Camp Phoenix, which it described as a military ammunition storage site. Amnesty’s investigation, based on satellite imagery, photographs, video evidence and eyewitness testimony, found no proof that the centre was a military facility and confirmed that Omid was an active medical institution adjacent to a former NATO base.

The rights group said the attack violated international humanitarian law, which protects medical facilities in armed conflict, and urged that the incident be examined as a possible war crime. The Omid centre, a newly renovated 2,000‑bed facility, was a key element of the Taliban‑run campaign to address drug abuse in Afghanistan.