Taliban to Carry Out Public Execution In Khost On Tuesday

The delegation included Rahmatullah Najib, the Taliban’s deputy interior minister; Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the foreign ministry spokesperson; and Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban figure. Saudi Arabia had earlier signalled its willingness to mediate between the two sides.

The Taliban have not commented publicly on the Saudi talks.

The discussions followed two failed rounds of talks in Istanbul, which also produced no results. Qatar and Türkiye, acting as mediators, previously hosted three rounds of Taliban–Pakistan negotiations in Doha and Istanbul. The first round in Doha resulted in an agreement on an immediate ceasefire.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier acknowledged that the Istanbul talks had collapsed. In a post on X, he said the negotiations “had no result,” adding that certain elements within Pakistan’s intelligence services and military were obstructing the process and attempting to heighten tensions.

President Emomali Rahmon instructed security agencies to assess the situation and consider measures to reinforce border security.

According to the statement, Rahmon condemned what he called the illegal and provocative actions of Afghan citizens and directed authorities to take effective steps to resolve the issue and prevent further incidents.

Tajik officials have previously warned about drug traffickers and illegal gold miners operating in remote areas along the Afghan border.

Earlier, the Tajik Foreign Ministry said three Chinese workers were killed when assailants crossed from Afghanistan and attacked the staff compound of the “Shahín SM” gold-mining company in the Shamsiddin Shohin district of Khatlon province.

Local sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International that on Sunday evening, 30 November, two Chinese nationals were also attacked in the Shadak border area of Tajikistan from Razavi village in Maimay district. The sources said the attack appeared to involve Taliban border forces who had recently arrived in the area from other parts of Badakhshan.

Tajik authorities have not publicly named the perpetrators but have described the assailants as criminal groups operating from inside Afghanistan.

The comments emerged as part of a public inquiry launched by the UK Ministry of Defence after a BBC investigation reported that members of the Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people under suspicious circumstances during a six-month deployment roughly a decade ago.

The inquiry is examining a series of night raids conducted between mid-2010 and mid-2013, when British forces were operating under the US-led coalition against the Taliban and other insurgents. Although British military police previously investigated allegations of wrongdoing including some involving the SAS, the Ministry of Defence has said those probes did not uncover sufficient evidence to prosecute.

The current inquiry is tasked with determining whether credible information about extrajudicial killings existed, whether military police investigations were properly conducted, and whether any unlawful killings were covered up.

Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, the inquiry’s chair and a senior judge, said it was essential both to hold accountable anyone who broke the law and to clear the names of those who did not.

In newly disclosed confidential testimony released on Monday, a former British officer who served as deputy chief of staff for UK special operations in Afghanistan said the number of enemy fighters reported killed in action consistently exceeded the number of weapons recovered. He said repeated claims that detainees had attempted to seize weapons or detonate grenades after being captured did not appear credible.

He told Oliver Glasgow, the inquiry’s lead counsel, that the incidents amounted to “war crimes,” describing detainees being taken back to raid sites and executed under the pretence that they had attacked British forces.

The officer said he raised his concerns at the time with the commander of UK special forces in Afghanistan, but instead of initiating an investigation, the commander ordered only a review of operational tactics.

He said he regretted not reporting the matter directly to military police, although he eventually did so in 2015. He also suggested the issue was not confined to a few soldiers but appeared more widespread, saying many within the special forces community seemed to know what was happening.

He added that the killing of detainees including, in some instances, toddlers shot in their beds was “not special, not elite, not what we stand for,” and that most personnel would not condone or cover up such actions.

Speaking in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Rehman said the two countries must reassess their approaches and end rising tensions. He said he opposed any conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Rehman, who is seen as close to the Afghan Taliban, argued that Islamabad has not been able to improve relations with Kabul through diplomatic efforts. Referring to his recent visit to Afghanistan, he said he had completed his agenda there, but his efforts were not pursued further by the Pakistani government.

He also urged armed groups to end fighting and said Afghanistan should cooperate with Pakistan on this issue. His comments come amid heightened tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban following weeks of border clashes.

Pakistan accuses the Taliban of sheltering and supporting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an allegation the Taliban has repeatedly denied.

The group said the strike took place on Saturday evening, targeting the Taliban’s Seventh Security District in the provincial capital.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, the front said the clash lasted more than 15 minutes and involved the use of both light and heavy weapons. It added that none of its fighters were injured.

Two local sources separately confirmed to Afghanistan International that the Taliban’s Seventh Security District came under attack on Saturday night.

Taliban officials have not commented on the incident or the reported casualties.