Muttaqi, Omani Foreign Minister Discuss Rising Taliban-Pakistan Tensions

The Taliban Supreme Court said the pair were each given 39 lashes and sentenced to four to five years in prison. In Badakhshan, three men were also punished with 39 lashes and two-year prison terms for selling and transporting alcohol.

According to the statement, the punishments were carried out on Wednesday, March 11, in the presence of local officials and members of the public.

Findings by Afghanistan International indicate that since 2024 the Taliban have publicly flogged more than 2,000 people, including 291 women, on various charges.

The findings suggest the Taliban have avoided carrying out corporal punishment publicly against individuals affiliated with their own ranks.

Despite opposition from international organisations to torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings. The group says such punishments are the enforcement of Islamic law by courts under its authority.

Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said ongoing Pakistani attacks had killed three civilians and wounded several others.

Fitrat said three people were killed and three others injured after a mortar shell struck a house in Patan district of Paktia province.

He also reported that Pakistani forces fired mortar rounds and artillery at homes and public facilities in Shkin district of Paktika province. No casualties have yet been reported from that district.

Fitrat added that dozens of mortar and artillery rounds were also fired by Pakistan in Zazi Maidan district of Khost province, wounding one person and forcing many families to flee their homes.

He said shelling had also continued since the previous day in Kamdesh district of Nuristan province, prompting residents to leave their homes.

The statement comes as Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said Monday that Pakistan’s operations inside Afghanistan targeted only militant hideouts and did not include attacks on civilian areas.

Contradicting Pakistan’s claim, the United Nations earlier confirmed that at least 56 Afghan civilians had been killed in Pakistani strikes.

The delegation includes Pakistani religious figures Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, Maulana Abdullah Shah Mazhar and Maulana Sajid Usman.

According to the sources, the visit aims to explore ways to ease tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.

Neither Pakistan nor the Taliban administration has officially confirmed the visit.

Al-Mirsad also reported on X, citing sources, that Pakistan’s military has sought dialogue in light of the situation in Afghanistan.

According to the report, Taliban officials said they would only enter talks if the Pakistani delegation’s intentions were sincere.

As tensions rise and Pakistan expands airstrikes in several Afghan cities, senior Taliban officials, including Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, have called for dialogue.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi stated in a post on X on Tuesday that the individuals currently detained had been arrested for violating existing laws and would be released after the completion of legal procedures.

The statement said several rounds of talks had taken place between the Taliban administration and the United States, facilitated by the government of Qatar, during which both sides promised certain positive steps.

The Taliban foreign ministry said it hopes the issue will be resolved through ongoing dialogue and constructive engagement between the two sides.

The United States on Monday designated the Taliban administration as a jurisdiction responsible for wrongful detention. After Iran, the Taliban are the second regime placed on the list.

Marco Rubio said the Taliban were using tactics resembling terrorism to extract political concessions and stressed that such methods would not succeed against the United States.

According to Washington, at least three US citizens are currently being held in Taliban prisons.

Mike Waltz said during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday that the usefulness of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan must be carefully evaluated.

He said the council should think carefully about the funding it collectively provides for the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan, while female staff of the agency are not even allowed to go to their offices.

Waltz also said the UNAMA receives the largest budget among all UN special political missions worldwide.

Afghanistan under Taliban rule is facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

According to the World Food Programme, more than 17 million Afghans face severe food shortages, including about 4.7 million people experiencing emergency levels of hunger.