New Delhi, 20 March (H.S.): In a strong humanitarian gesture following the Pakistan‑claimed airstrike on Kabul’s Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital on the night of 16 March 2026, India has dispatched a 2.5‑tonne consignment of emergency medicines, medical disposables, treatment kits and equipment to Kabul.

The supplies are specifically aimed at supporting the medical treatment and swift recovery of those injured in the attack, which India has described as a “barbaric” strike on a civilian health facility.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, the consignment, flown by a special Indian Air Force‑backed mission, reached Kabul on 19 March 2026 and has been handed over through Afghan‑controlled logistics channels. The shipment includes trauma‑care medicines, surgical disposables, oxygen‑support gear and intensive‑care‑oriented devices, tailored to address blast‑related injuries and burn cases typical of airstrike‑affected hospital wards.

India on 17 March issued a sharp condemnation of the strike, calling it an “unconscionable act of violence” against a clearly non‑military target, and reiterated that the incident would further isolate Pakistan in the international community. The medical aid underscores India’s longstanding “people‑centric” approach toward Afghanistan, even as it withholds formal recognition of the Taliban‑led administration.

India has long maintained a steady pipeline of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan, having dispatched several hundred tonnes of medicines, vaccines and medical equipment over the past decade, including cancer‑care supplies and imaging machines.

Afghan health officials have repeatedly acknowledged that Indian‑donated drugs and equipment treat a significant share of complex pathologies in public hospitals.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has, in parallel, offered to facilitate treatment in Indian hospitals for serious Afghan trauma cases and to fast‑track medical‑visa clearances, in line with a 1 February 2026 Union Budget that increased India’s development‑and‑humanitarian allocation for Afghanistan by about 27 percent to ₹150 crore.

In its statement accompanying the delivery, the External Affairs Ministry said:“To support the medical treatment and swift recovery of those injured in the heinous attack on 16 March, India has delivered a 2.5‑tonne consignment of emergency medicines, medical disposables, kits and equipment to Kabul. India stands in solidarity with the Afghan people and will continue to extend all possible humanitarian support in this difficult hour.”

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar