ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — 18 March 2026 — Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday firmly rejected allegations circulating in Afghan media and on social platforms that Pakistani forces were behind a strike on a hospital in Kabul, calling the claims “baseless” and “irresponsible.”
The statement followed reports from Kabul that an explosion occurred near a medical facility in the Afghan capital late Monday. Afghan officials have not publicly assigned blame, but several commentators and unofficial accounts online suggested Pakistan may have been involved — an accusation Islamabad dismissed as politically motivated.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan had “no role whatsoever” in the incident and urged Afghan authorities to avoid speculation while investigations were still underway. “Pakistan strongly rejects these unfounded allegations,” she said, adding that such claims “undermine regional stability at a time when cooperation is urgently needed.”
Afghan health officials confirmed that the blast caused damage to parts of the hospital compound, though the full extent of casualties remained unclear as of Tuesday afternoon. Local police in Kabul said they were still gathering evidence and had not identified the source of the explosion.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained in recent months, particularly over cross‑border militancy and security operations along the frontier. Both governments have traded accusations over the presence of armed groups operating on each other’s territory, though each side insists it is committed to preventing violence.
Security analysts noted that without official findings from Afghan investigators, it remains difficult to determine what caused the explosion. “In the absence of verified information, these kinds of allegations tend to circulate quickly,” said a regional researcher based in Islamabad, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Pakistan called on Afghan authorities to conduct a transparent inquiry and share verified details once available. “We hope the Afghan government will establish the facts and refrain from allowing misinformation to spread,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Afghan officials have not yet responded to Pakistan’s statement.