Afghans search for loved ones at Kabul rehab centre bombed by Pakistan

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar

KABUL, March 18 (Reuters) - Families and friends of people who were under treatment at a rehab centre in the Afghan capital Kabul searched for their loved ones on Wednesday, two days after it was bombed by Pakistan in the deadliest incident in the months long conflict between the neighbours.

The Afghan Taliban government has said that more than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in the air strike that took place on Monday night, just as people and staff at the centre were praying, days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Pakistan rejected the claim, saying it had "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure" - a sharp escalation that hasfurther worsened relations between the Islamic neighbours at a time when the neighbourhood has also become unstable due to the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

On Wednesday, relatives of people who were at the drug rehabilitation centre gathered at the site looking for their loved ones who were among the hundreds recovering there.

Many said they did not know whether their relatives were alive or dead, or if they had been moved elsewhere.

"We came here looking for our patient, he is missing," said Mazar, 50, who gave only one name. "We came to find out whether he is well, alive, or what has happened to him."

The relative, Mazar said, had been admitted at the centre for the second time and there was no information about him. "We checked the lists, but his name was not in the list of the living. Maybe he is injured or has been killed," he said.

MOST BODIES YET TO BE HANDED OVER

Another man who did not want to be named said he had come in search of his relative on Tuesday but was not allowed to enter the centre.

"We did not find his body, nor was he among the wounded, and his name is not on the list of survivors," he said. "We have come again today for more information."

A Reuters witness at the scene saw smoke still smouldering from parts of the compound as firefighters continued to douse small fires, about 36 hours after the bombing.Pieces of furniture, mattresses and clothing lay scattered among the debris.

The Afghan interior ministry said funerals of some those killed at the centre would take place later on Wednesday.

"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," interior ministry spokesmanAbdul Mateen Qanie said. "Others were completely destroyed, collected almost like pieces of flesh."

Najibullah Farooqi, head of Afghanistan's legal medicine directorate, said bodies were being pulled out of the debris as late as Tuesday night and were being handed over to families.

"Some bodies have been handed over after their identities were confirmed. However, a large number of bodies still remain with us," he said.

DISPUTE OVER TARGET OF AIR STRIKE

Afghanistan and Pakistan have fiercely contested and disputed the target of the air strike.

Afghan authorities said the attack had clearly targeted a well-known rehabilitation centre, a former NATO military base named Camp Phoenix that had been converted into a civilian facility about a decade ago.

Pakistan has said it hit Camp Phoenix, a "military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site" and that secondary detonations that were visible after the strikes clearly indicated the presence of large ammunition depots there.

The EU, UN agencies and international aid groups have said civilian and medical facilities should not be targeted during a conflict and called for immediate de-escalation.

The conflict between the allies turned foes began last year after Pakistan accused Afghanistan of sheltering and backing militants carrying out attacks across Pakistan, a charge denied by the Afghan Taliban government.

The conflict had ebbed amid efforts by friendly countries including China to mediate, but flared again with Pakistan directly targeting the Afghan Taliban last month and not just locations of Pakistani Taliban militants Islamabad says are across the border.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Tanvi Mehta and YP Rajesh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)