On Monday August 24, 2009, while returning from Afghanistan to Pakistan by bus, Hashimzada was assassinated in the Khyber Pass, the mountain pass that connects Pakistan and Afghanistan near Jamrud in the Khyber tribal area. The bus on which he was riding was intercepted by militant (presumably Taliban) riding in a Toyota Corolla who used the car to cut the bus off and stop it. The militants then entered the bus and shot only Hashimzada dead, then fled. His body was taken to a hospital in Jamrud.