Former Afghan Attorney General Says Pakistan’s Attack on Kabul Addiction Center Could Be Prosecuted as War Crime
Mohammad Fareed Hamidi, the former Attorney General of Afghanistan, has stated that Pakistan’s attack on an addiction treatment center in Kabul could fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation. He described the act as a potential “war crime” under international law.
On Tuesday, March 16, Hamidi wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account that targeting such civilian facilities, if proven, could qualify as an international crime. According to him, attacks on medical centers that are civilian in nature are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.
The former Attorney General emphasized that although the Taliban administration does not recognize Afghanistan’s membership in the ICC, the group lacks both national and international legitimacy, and its decisions cannot alter Afghanistan’s legal status. He noted that Afghanistan remains a party to the Rome Statute and thus bound by its obligations.
Referring to the Rome Statute, Hamidi added that the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression. He asserted that attacks on residential areas, civilian casualties, and bombing of hospitals, schools, and other protected sites, if proven, could constitute war crimes and even crimes against humanity.
These comments come amid the Taliban administration’s early 2024 stance rejecting the ICC’s arrest warrant for its leader and declaring non-recognition of the court’s treaties. Nonetheless, legal experts have repeatedly stressed that unilateral withdrawal or non-acceptance by an administration lacking international legitimacy does not automatically nullify a country’s international commitments.
