Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Tuesday strongly rejected Afghan Taliban claims that its latest airstrikes targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, calling the claims “completely baseless” and part of a wider pattern of disinformation aimed at distorting the facts.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes carried out on the night of March 16 under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq were “precise, deliberate and professional”, targeting only military and terrorist infrastructure linked to attacks inside Pakistan.
“No hospital, no drug rehabilitation center and no civilian facility were targeted,” the minister said, adding that ammunition depots, logistics hubs and technical installations were hit in Kabul and Nangarhar.
According to the Ministry of Information, footage of all six attacks was released showing secondary explosions that confirmed the presence of munitions at the targeted locations. Officials said the visuals “leave no room for doubt” about the nature of the affected installations.
On Tuesday, the Taliban regime’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat claimed in a post on X that an airstrike had hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, killing up to 400 people in the Afghan capital overnight.
In response, the Ministry of Information issued a detailed fact-check that pointed out that an initial claim posted by an Afghan official social media handle alleging a strike at a rehabilitation facility was later deleted.
“If the claim was correct, why was it removed?” officials asked, suggesting that the material may not have withstood scrutiny and could even have involved artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content.
Further undermining the Taliban narrative, the ministry said, a photo circulated as evidence of mass casualties was actually from May 2023 and had previously been shared by the Taliban regime’s own interior ministry.
Reusing outdated photos to support current claims, officials said, reflected a “deliberate attempt to mislead public opinion and create confusion.”
The ministry further stated that the facility was located several kilometers away from Camp Phoenix, the actual target, and highlighted clear structural differences between the hospital and the installations that were hit.
A report by Afghanistan International further complicated the Taliban’s version, indicating that the attack targeted a military site near Camp Phoenix, while a fire in a nearby building was later portrayed as a hospital attack.
A video cited in the report quoted a person as saying the impact site was about 200 meters away from the alleged clinic. Tarar said such claims were consistent with “false narratives, doctored material, selective deletions and recycled images” used to obscure the facts.
“Their latest claim is part of the same well-worn pattern of deception,” he said. He maintained that Pakistan’s actions were aimed at countering terrorism originating from Afghan territory and warned that the threat had become more serious where vulnerable individuals, including drug addicts and children, were being exploited for militant purposes.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also lashed out at the Taliban leadership, accusing them of hypocrisy and ingratitude. In a strongly worded speech in Urdu, he said the allegations came from “those who orchestrate attacks on mosques, target civilians and shed the blood of innocent children,” adding that Pakistan had hosted them for decades at great cost.
“The [Taliban] fail to honor the agreements they enter into and demand ransom to fulfill obligations worth billions of rupees. The land of Pakistan did not merely give them refuge; it amounted to a superpower for their sake,” Asif wrote.
“[We] extended hospitality to three generations. We have made many mistakes in our 78 year history, but their hospitality is the most fatal mistake of all. May Allah forgive us, Ameen,” the minister added.
Several Taliban positions destroyed
On Tuesday, Pakistani forces conducted a series of coordinated operations against the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khwarij under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, targeting installations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as well as locations inside Afghanistan.
According to security sources, forces conducted successful operations in Khyber sector and North and South Waziristan, destroying several Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khwarij posts using anti-tank guided missiles and inflicting heavy casualties on the militants.
The forces also destroyed the Taliban’s Jhanda Post in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as part of the ongoing campaign aimed at dismantling militant infrastructure. Officials said the operation would continue until its stated objective was reached.
Tarar said Pakistan will continue to take “all necessary measures” to defend its citizens, dismantle terrorist networks and deny safe haven to those launching attacks from across the border, dismissing the Taliban’s claims as “false and misleading” propaganda.
(WITH ACCESS FROM APP)
