Pakistani Shelling Kills 4 In Khost Province, Says Taliban

The Taliban Supreme Court said in separate statements on Thursday, March 12, that corporal punishments of citizens had continued.

According to one report, two people in Bamiyan were publicly punished for theft and each was also sentenced to one year in prison.

Another statement said five men and one woman in Balkh were given 39 lashes.

The Taliban said the punishments were carried out in the presence of its officials and residents.

On Wednesday, the court also reported that 11 people, including two women, had been flogged in Takhar, Zabul and Badakhshan.

Findings by Afghanistan International show that since 2024 the Taliban have publicly flogged more than 2,000 people, including 291 women, on various charges while avoiding corporal punishment against individuals affiliated with their own ranks.

Yu Xiaoyong, China’s special representative for Afghanistan, made the remarks after meeting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Industry and Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi during a visit to Kabul.

In a post on X, Yu said Taliban officials had emphasised their readiness to intensify efforts to resolve recent terrorist attacks and strengthen security for Chinese nationals working in Afghanistan.

Yu travelled to Kabul to facilitate dialogue between the Taliban and Pakistan amid rising tensions.

Earlier, China’s Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with Ishaq Dar to discuss the ongoing tensions involving the Taliban. China expressed support for Pakistan’s fight against terrorism while calling for reduced tensions in the region.

China has also expressed concern over attacks targeting its citizens in Afghanistan. Chinese nationals have been repeatedly targeted in Kabul and several other provinces by militants linked to Uyghur groups and the Islamic State Khorasan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released the report Wednesday on the human rights situation in Afghanistan covering the period from November 2025 to January 2026.

The report said armed groups opposed to the Taliban claimed responsibility for 36 incidents during the period, of which 14 were verified.

According to the report, groups claiming the attacks included the National Resistance Front, the National Mobilisation Front, Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement for the Freedom of People and the Afghanistan Freedom Front.

The incidents included shootings at Taliban checkpoints and convoys, as well as rocket and grenade attacks.

The report also referred to a January attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul claimed by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate, Islamic State Khorasan Province.

It also noted several border clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistan, including incidents affecting civilian areas and infrastructure in Kandahar.

The report recorded clashes between Taliban fighters and Iranian border forces in Nimroz province, which led to the temporary closure of the border.

According to the report, Taliban forces also exchanged fire several times with Pakistani troops in border areas of Khost, Paktika, Kandahar, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.

It also referred to attempts by individuals to cross from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and civilian casualties resulting from efforts to stop them.

Residents in Ghazni, Kandahar, Khost, Wardak, Panjshir and Paktika reported witnessing airstrikes during the period.

UNAMA also documented 47 security incidents that directly affected UN personnel.

Attaullah Tarar said at least 855 Taliban fighters had also been wounded during the fighting.

In a post on X, Tarar said Pakistani forces had destroyed 243 Taliban posts in border areas and captured at least 42 others.

He also claimed that 219 Taliban tanks, armored vehicles, artillery pieces and other equipment had been destroyed.

Tarar added that since the start of the clashes at least 65 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted in air strikes.

The Taliban have not yet officially responded to the figures released by the Pakistani minister. The group has previously claimed it captured and destroyed several Pakistani border posts during the fighting.

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.