KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in Paktia province have reported that a man in the city of Gardez, the provincial capital, killed his wife before taking his own life. The incident occurred on Friday night (January 29) in the Malkhail area of Gardez.
The man, aged 35, and his wife were originally from Zara Kot district in Khost province, according to local sources. The exact motive for the killing-suicide remains unclear, though domestic violence is considered a common factor in such cases. Taliban local authorities in Paktia have not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.
Two weeks prior, similar incidents were reported in Afghanistan. In southern Helmand province, the body of a young man was found in the Musa Qala district, in the village of Shawarzo. In northern Balkh province, a two-and-a-half-year-old child named Arshida was reportedly abducted in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Sunday, 18 January 2026, from the Ansari Shish area of District Seven. The child was reportedly taken by a woman wearing a burqa, and her current whereabouts remain unknown.
