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Families mourn loved ones lost in deadliest Afghan attack
On a chilly, rain-soaked morning in Kabul, Masooda stands at the edge of a mass grave marked only by small white stones and rough granite slabs. She has come to visit her younger brother Mirwais, killed two months ago in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre. But she cannot find his exact resting place among the 269 confirmed dead-many reduced to unrecognizable body parts.
Attack on Omid centre shocks Afghanistan
The March 16 strike on the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Hospital is now considered the deadliest attack in Afghanistan's recent history, surpassing even the violence of the 20-year war between the Taliban, NATO, and Afghan forces. The United Nations confirmed 269 fatalities but warns the true toll is likely higher. Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have condemned the attack as unlawful and a potential war crime.
Pakistan denies targeting civilians, insisting the strike hit "military and terrorist infrastructure." In a statement to the BBC, Islamabad claimed no hospital or rehabilitation centre was bombed. However, the UN and BBC teams who visited the site immediately after the attack confirmed the facility housed only civilians undergoing treatment.
"Pakistan is lying. I saw it-it wasn't a military camp. There were men there to heal and return to their families,"
Masooda, sister of victim Mirwais
Witnesses describe horrific aftermath
A doctor present during the attack, who requested anonymity, recounted the chaos: "I walked amid dead bodies, searching for survivors. The smell of burning flesh was everywhere." The UN report noted that shrapnel wounds and severe burns made many victims unidentifiable, with some reduced to dismembered remains.
The facility, located in a former U.S. military base called Camp Phoenix, had operated as a rehabilitation centre since 2016. It was well-documented by local and international media, including a 2023 BBC visit. The UN's human rights representative in Afghanistan, Fiona Frazer, confirmed its civilian status, stating it was "well known" to aid agencies.
Families struggle to identify victims
Sediq Walizada spent days searching hospitals for his brother Mohammad Anwar, a 35-year-old father of six who had been at Omid for just four days. The patient list was destroyed in the fire, leaving families to sift through photos of charred remains. "Not knowing if he was dead or alive was agonizing," Sediq said. "Then we found a photo of a body severed in half-we believe it was him."
Like many victims, Mohammad Anwar had turned to drugs due to poverty. His brother Sediq described his struggle: "He didn't use drugs for fun. He did it because of helplessness and hardship."
Pakistan's claims disputed by families and evidence
Pakistan's military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, alleged the centre was a "suicide bomber training facility" using drug addicts as recruits. Families and staff vehemently reject this. "My brother was an employee-he cooked for patients," said Hedayatullah, whose brother Emal Abdul Malik died in the attack.
The Taliban government has called for an international investigation, labeling the attack a war crime. Deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat stated, "Targeting innocent civilians is a war crime. Those responsible must be prosecuted."
Escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan
The strike marks a dangerous escalation in hostilities between the two neighbors. Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring militants responsible for attacks on its soil, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The Taliban denies these claims, insisting it does not allow armed groups to operate from Afghan territory.
For Afghans, the attack has shattered the fragile peace since the 2021 Taliban takeover. "We are an oppressed people," said one victim's brother. "We have no power to respond. We can only hope God brings the perpetrators to justice."
