Kabul Drug Rehab Centre Destroyed in Pakistani Airstrike
Relatives of patients gathered outside the devastated drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul on Wednesday, two days after a Pakistani airstrike reduced the facility to rubble. Many expressed anguish over not knowing whether their loved ones were alive, dead, or possibly transferred elsewhere, as the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates dramatically.
Mounting Casualties and Conflicting Claims
The Afghan Taliban government has reported that more than 400 people were killed and 265 others wounded in Monday night's airstrike, which occurred during evening prayers just before the end of Ramadan. Pakistan has firmly rejected these claims, stating it had "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" rather than civilian facilities.
This represents a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring Islamic nations, occurring against the backdrop of regional destabilization from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. The strike marks the deadliest single attack in the months-long confrontation between the two countries.
Families' Desperate Search for Missing Relatives
Mazar, a 50-year-old who provided only one name, explained his desperate situation: "We came here looking for our patient, he is missing. We came to find out whether he is well, alive, or what has happened to him." His relative had been admitted to the centre for the second time, and his name appeared on neither the list of survivors nor the deceased.
Another man, who wished to remain anonymous, described his fruitless search: "We did not find his body, nor was he among the wounded, and his name is not on the list of survivors. We have come again today for more information." He had been denied entry to the site on Tuesday following the bombing.
Scene of Devastation and Ongoing Recovery Efforts
Firefighters continued dousing small fires approximately 36 hours after the bombing, with smoke still smoldering from parts of the compound. The scene revealed scattered debris including pieces of furniture, mattresses, and personal clothing among the wreckage.
Abdul Mateen Qanie, spokesperson for Afghanistan's interior ministry, provided grim details about the recovery process: "Some of the bodies were not identifiable and are currently at the forensic department. Some bodies were intact and were handed over to their families. Others were completely destroyed, collected almost like pieces of flesh."
Najibullah Farooqi, head of Afghanistan's legal medicine directorate, confirmed that bodies were still being pulled from debris as late as Tuesday night. "Some bodies have been handed over after their identities were confirmed. However, a large number of bodies still remain with us," he stated.
Disputed Target and International Concern
Afghan authorities maintain the attack clearly targeted a well-known rehabilitation centre located at a former NATO military base called Camp Phoenix, which had been converted into a civilian facility approximately a decade ago.
Pakistan insists it struck what it describes as a "military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site," noting that secondary detonations visible after the strikes indicated the presence of large ammunition depots.
The European Union, United Nations agencies, and international aid groups have emphasized that civilian and medical facilities should never be targeted during conflicts, calling for immediate de-escalation. The conflict between these former allies began last year when Pakistan accused Kabul of sheltering militants conducting attacks across Pakistan—a charge denied by the Afghan Taliban government.
Although tensions had eased somewhat amid mediation efforts by countries including China, hostilities flared again last month with Pakistan directly targeting Afghan Taliban positions rather than just locations of Pakistani Taliban militants it claims are operating across the border.
