By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal

JALALABAD - A Pakistani diplomatic official has been shot and killed by unknown gunmen near his residence in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.

A spokesman for Nangarhar Province’s government, Attaullah Khogiani, told RFE/RL that two motorcyclists opened fire on November 6, killing 52-year-old Nayyar Iqbl Rana.

The attack took place at around 6 p.m. local time and the assailants managed to escape, Khogiani added.

An Afghan official said the slain Pakistani consulate official was on his way home after buying groceries when he came under attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the assault.

Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Zahid Nasrullah Khan, confirmed the deadly attack.

He said he had "absolutely no idea" why Rana, a father of five, was targeted.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, and called on Afghan authorities to take "urgent steps to apprehend the perpetrators."

Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal condemned the killing in a message on Twitter, and said he conveyed his government's sympathies to the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.

The incident comes after the deputy governor of Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar, Muhammad Nabi Ahmadi, was kidnapped by gunmen in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on October 27. No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

In June, two Pakistani diplomats working at the Pakistani Consulate in Jalalabad were kidnapped and later freed by security forces in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's relations are often tense with Pakistan, which has been accused by Kabul of secretly supporting extremists who are attempting to overthrow the Afghan government.

Islamabad denies the allegations.

With reporting by AFP