KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Police in Pakistan say three Afghan nationals were killed and another was injured in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
According to BBC, the attack took place on Tuesday evening (August 18) in the Hazarganji Cross area of Quetta.
Khizar Hayat, the area’s deputy police commander, told the BBC that the four Afghan nationals had traveled to Quetta from Dalbandin in Chagai district, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. They were reportedly traveling toward Gulistan in Qila Abdullah district when they came under attack.
Police said two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on the Afghans. Two of the victims were killed at the scene, while another died after being taken to a hospital.
The identities of the three victims have not yet been released.
The deputy police commander for Hazarganji Cross said the motive for the attack remains unknown and that an investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances behind the shooting.
The incident comes days after a former Afghan military officer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Quetta’s Shalkot area on Sunday.
The former officer, Hazratullah Achakzai, had served as the former police chief of the Second Police District in Kandahar and was reportedly a close associate of Abdul Raziq Achakzai, the former Kandahar police commander.
The former officer’s body was scheduled to be transferred to Kandahar on Tuesday. However, according to sources, the Taliban stopped the transfer at the border.
The shooting in Quetta comes at a time when security dynamics in the broader Afghanistan–Pakistan region remain highly unstable, with both countries facing overlapping security and political challenges.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, the regional security environment has shifted significantly, affecting border management, militant mobility, and counterterrorism cooperation between the two neighbors.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan. The attacks often target security personnel, police patrols, military convoys, and government installations.
Afghanistan’s worsening humanitarian and economic conditions have continued to push many Afghans to seek safety and livelihoods in neighboring countries, often through irregular or undocumented routes. At the same time, insecurity in some border regions has increased the risks faced by Afghan migrants, particularly those traveling through remote areas or living without legal protection.
Against this backdrop, attacks targeting Afghan nationals in Pakistan have added to concerns over the safety and protection of Afghans who have crossed the border in search of security and better living conditions.
