A Pakistani strike killed her son in rehab. Now an Afghan mother demands answers

AdvertisementAfghanistanAsiaSouth AsiaA Pakistani strike killed her son in rehab. Now an Afghan mother demands answersHuman rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the March 16 strike on a drug treatment centre that killed 411 3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 9:14am, 6 Apr 2026Samira Muhammadi hopes an international investigation can “extinguish” her pain after a Pakistani bombing killed her son and hundreds of other Afghans in the capital Kabul last month.The March 16 attack hit a drug treatment centre and killed 411 people, according to Afghan officials. A United Nations source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had verified at least 250 killed, with more still missing.Advertisement“There should be investigations on this … Like me, many mothers lost their sons, many women lost their husbands and many sisters lost their brothers,” Muhammadi, 43, said at her home, where she scrolled through photos of her eldest son. Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in an escalating conflict over claims from Islamabad that Kabul is harbouring militants responsible for cross-border attacks, which the Taliban government denies.Afghan men walk among debris at the site of a drug rehabilitation centre destroyed in a Pakistani air strike in Kabul on March 16. Photo: ReutersPakistan has maintained it struck a military installation and did not respond to questions about a possible investigation into the deadly Kabul bombing.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x