641 Taliban Fighters Killed In Cross-Border Fighting, Says Pakistan

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the writer and researcher was last seen in Afghanistan’s Khost province. The agency said the identities of those who provide information leading to his recovery will remain confidential.

Paul Edwin Overby Jr. disappeared while travelling toward Pakistan’s Waziristan region and was last seen in mid-May 2014 in the city of Khost. He was conducting research in the area for a book.

The FBI first announced a reward of $1m in 2018 for information leading to his whereabouts and has repeatedly appealed for information since his disappearance.

In May 2025, the United States raised the reward to $5m for information on Overby’s location, recovery and return, though the announcement has only recently drawn wider media attention.

CNN reported in October last year that Overby may have died in Afghanistan. Nearly 12 years after he went missing, the circumstances of his disappearance remain unclear.

The development comes after Washington designated the Taliban administration as responsible for wrongful detentions, accusing it of holding US citizens.

US officials have previously said the Taliban use detainees as leverage in negotiations.

Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday that Pakistani forces had targeted Taliban positions along the frontier.

Citing security sources, the broadcaster said the Pakistani army carried out attacks on Taliban targets in Zhob along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The report said Taliban fighters were forced to retreat and had abandoned some of their positions and weapons.

Taliban authorities have not yet commented on the report.

The state broadcaster also said the army had seized Russian-made 73mm HGL-9 heavy grenade launchers from positions earlier under Taliban control.

According to a statement, Amir Khan Muttaqi outlined the Taliban administration’s position on Pakistan’s attacks and what it described as defensive responses.

The ministry said bilateral relations and regional developments were also discussed during the call with Al Busaidi.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the Taliban foreign ministry said both sides described recent developments in the Middle East as concerning and condemned what they called US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the possible spread of the conflict to other countries in the region.

The ministry added that Muttaqi and Al Busaidi stressed the importance of diplomacy to resolve regional tensions.

In recent days, Muttaqi has also held talks with representatives of several countries, including China, Russia and Qatar, about tensions with Pakistan.

He earlier told foreign diplomats in Kabul that the Taliban administration was facing what he described as an imposed war and had acted cautiously in defensive operations.

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.