2005 earthquake victim's remains recovered after 21 years in Mansehra
- By Asim Mallick -
- Jul 13, 2026
MANSEHRA, July 13: The remains of a child who went missing during Pakistan’s devastating 2005 earthquake have been recovered in Mansehra, bringing an emotional end to a family’s 21-year search.
According to the child’s father, Qari Shafiq-ur-Rehman, his four-year-old son named Jamal Shafiq, disappeared when the powerful earthquake struck on October 8, 2005. Despite years of hope and searching, the family never found any trace of him.
The breakthrough came unexpectedly during the construction of a house, when workers discovered human remains beneath a pile of earthquake debris.
Qari Shafiq-ur-Rehman said the family identified the remains through the clothes and shoes that Jamal was wearing on the day of the disaster.
The discovery reopened painful memories of one of the deadliest natural disasters in Pakistan’s history, which claimed tens of thousands of lives and left countless families shattered across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
For Jamal’s family, the recovery of his remains has finally answered a question that remained unresolved for more than two decades. Although it cannot erase the grief they have carried since the earthquake, it has given them the opportunity to lay their son to rest with dignity.
The incident has touched many people in the area, with residents describing it as a heartbreaking reminder of the human tragedy left behind by the 2005 earthquake.