'Chinese-origin weapons used': Brahma Chellaney calls Pakistan's Kabul hospital bombing a potential war crime

Brahma Chellaney, a geostrategist and strategic affairs commentator, has described Pakistan's airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul as a potential violation of international humanitarian law, while also raising questions about the role of Chinese-supplied weapons used in the attack.

Also read: Pakistani aircraft bombs Kabul hospital; leaves over 400 killed, 250 injured

"Under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, Pakistan’s bombing of Kabul’s Omid Drug Rehabilitation Hospital bears the hallmarks of a potential war crime. Article 18 of the Fourth Geneva Convention is explicit: civilian hospitals "may in no circumstances be the object of attack"," the commentator said. 

Chellaney also said Beijing could face scrutiny over the weapons systems used in Pakistan's air campaign.

"China may also bear a measure of responsibility. Pakistan has prosecuted its air war against Afghanistan using Chinese-origin military hardware, including JF-17 fighter aircraft. Evidence from the hospital site points to the use of Chinese-supplied precision-guided munitions (PGMs), rather than 'dumb' gravity bombs," he added. 

Taliban government reports heavy casualties

On Tuesday, Afghanistan's Taliban government accused Pakistan's military of striking the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Hospital in Kabul. Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said the strike had caused extensive destruction and casualties.

In a post on X early Tuesday, he said the death toll had risen to 400, with another 250 people reported injured, after the Monday night airstrike destroyed large sections of the hospital. Pakistan has denied targeting a hospital. Officials in Islamabad said earlier that its strikes in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan had not hit civilian sites.

India condemns Pakistan's bombing in Kabul

India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack, calling it an assault on civilians and Afghanistan's sovereignty. "India unequivocally condemns Pakistan's barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16," the MEA said. "This is a cowardly and unconscionable act of violence that has claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility that can by no means be justified as a military target. Pakistan is now trying to dress up a massacre as a military operation."

"This heinous act of aggression by Pakistan is also a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability. It reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and its repeated attempts to externalize internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence beyond its borders," the MEA added.