Unnamed sources at Afghanistan's forensic medicine department in Kabul said overnight Pakistani airstrikes hit a drug rehabilitation center in the capital, killing more than 100 people, BBC reported on March 17. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed the strike had hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, while the World Health Organization said it was still working to verify the incident; both institutions called on Afghanistan and Pakistan to de-escalate and prioritize the well-being of vulnerable populations.

The Afghan Taliban claimed significantly higher casualty figures than those reported by BBC, with the group's spokesperson claiming Pakistani strikes killed upward of 400 people and wounded some 250 others. Islamabad, meanwhile, rejected the Afghan Taliban's claims, saying the Pakistani military had "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban has repeatedly accused Pakistan of striking civilian targets in recent years, but none have appeared as deadly as this latest strike. The strike comes days after Pakistan's president on March 14 said the Afghan Taliban had "crossed a red line" by launching drones toward civilian areas in Pakistan, which the group has been doing for weeks. However, recent drone attacks had reportedly reached as far as the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi, and falling debris injured some civilians on the ground in the western city of Quetta.