UN Expert Urges Probe, Compensation After Pakistan Strike on Kabul Rehab Centre

Richard Bennett, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on Afghanistan, has called for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into Pakistan’s bombing of an addiction treatment centre in Kabul. He also said those responsible must be held accountable and that compensation should be paid to victims and their families.

Bennett’s remarks came after the strike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, which Taliban authorities say killed around 400 people. Reuters reported that witnesses described scenes of devastation at the facility, while Pakistan rejected the allegation that it had struck a civilian medical site and said it had targeted military installations and “terrorist support infrastructure.”

The U.N. human rights office has also demanded a transparent inquiry, stressing that under international humanitarian law civilians and civilian objects are protected, with medical facilities entitled to specific additional safeguards. U.N. agencies have voiced concern over civilian casualties as tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities continue to rise.

The strike has become one of the deadliest episodes in the latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan hostilities. Survivors and hospital workers told Reuters that patient wards were hit during evening prayers, leaving large parts of the centre destroyed and many bodies trapped under rubble.

Pakistan has increasingly accused the Taliban administration of sheltering militants, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters, who Islamabad says plan and launch attacks from Afghanistan soil. Kabul denies the charge and in turn accuses Pakistan of fueling instability.

The latest violence followed weeks of worsening cross-border clashes, with regional powers, including China, stepping in to push both sides toward de-escalation. Despite those efforts, deadly strikes and border fighting have continued.

Bennett said accountability and reparations were essential after the Kabul attack, underscoring growing international pressure for an impartial review of the incident and stronger protection for civilians caught in the conflict.

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