In the heart of Kabul, a place meant to heal people struggling with addiction has been turned into rubble overnight. An air strike ripped through the drug treatment centre on Monday evening, with explosions echoing across the city just after 8:50 pm local time. Flames still flickered as rescuers pulled more than 30 bodies out on stretchers, and families gathered outside in panic, desperate for news of their loved ones.
Around 2,000 people were inside getting help for drug addiction when the attack happened. Officials fear the toll could reach hundreds—some reports even mention as many as 400 lives lost—though the exact numbers are still unclear amid the chaos. The building, once an old military base, had been transformed into a sanctuary for those rounded up from the streets. Now it lies flattened, blankets and shoes scattered among the debris, windows blown out and charred.
The Afghan authorities point the finger at Pakistan, calling it a direct hit on a civilian health facility with no military targets nearby. Pakistan strongly denies this, insisting its strikes were precise and only aimed at terrorist hideouts and support bases linked to groups attacking their own soil. They say every effort was made to avoid harming ordinary people.
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This heartbreaking strike is the latest painful chapter in a long-running feud between the two neighbours. Tensions boiled over again in February, with cross-border clashes claiming at least 75 lives and injuring nearly 200 since then. A shaky ceasefire from last October has done little to stop the violence.
As rescue teams continued digging through the night and into Tuesday, people across Afghanistan and Pakistan are hoping for calm. Neighbouring China has stepped in, urging both sides to sit down face-to-face and stop the fighting before more innocent lives are lost.