KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Unknown assailants shot and killed a young doctor outside a hospital in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktia province on Sunday, Taliban authorities said, amid a recent rise in mysterious killings and other violent crimes across the country.
Abdulbari Muneeb Zadran, spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Paktia, said the victim, identified as Abdul Khanan, was killed in front of Paktia Regional Hospital in the provincial capital Gardez on Sunday afternoon.
Khanan was completing his internship at the hospital and was shot with an air rifle, according to Zadran.
The motive behind the incident and the identity of those responsible remain unknown.
The killing comes amid a rise in reported mysterious killings and other violent crimes in recent weeks. Cases involving young people, including teenage boys and girls as well as young men and women, have been reported in multiple provinces. In many instances, the perpetrators have been described as unidentified armed individuals.
One recent case involved a 12-year-old girl whose body was found on Aug. 6 in Jalalabad, the capital of neighboring Nangarhar province. Local sources said initial findings pointed to strangulation and signs of violence. Taliban authorities have not publicly commented on that incident.
While the Taliban say they have restored security nationwide since returning to power in 2021, residents, civil society activists, and human rights groups continue to express concern about the authorities’ capacity to protect civilians, conduct transparent investigations, and hold perpetrators accountable.
