Heavy Rainfall Expected In Central & Eastern Afghanistan, Says UN

Mir Ziaullah Langove said on Sunday the suspect, identified as Habibullah, 20, from Paktika, was detained. Officials said his brother is a commander in Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

A Pakistani Senior police official Hamza Shafqaat said Habibullah, also known as “Lalu”, was arrested near Quetta. He said the suspect had previously been detained but released after a month due to mistaken identity as a civilian. He added that the man later resumed militant activities and was involved in the killing of two Pakistani border personnel.

In a video shared on Langove’s X account, the suspect is seen confessing during interrogation that he operated under a commander named “Muslim” and targeted Pakistani forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The minister said a case has been registered against the suspect and that he will be presented in court.

He also claimed that some Afghan nationals have been involved in several terrorist attacks in Balochistan.

He stressed that Pakistan’s actions are aimed at terrorism, not Afghan citizens, and warned that any attempt to destabilise Pakistan from Afghan territory would be met with a firm response.

The chamber described the agreements as an important step in strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

The deals come as trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan reached $1.7 billion in 2025.

Previously, Afghan and Uzbek private sectors also signed 25 trade agreements in Kabul, valued at more than $500 million.

Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, wrote on X on Sunday that Afghans are experiencing unprecedented levels of division, distrust and pressure. He added: “Those who share a path, ideals and pain must stand together.”

He criticised what he called “malicious and divisive efforts” and expressed support for Afghan political figure Fawzia Koofi.

Koofi faced strong criticism after attending two meetings on Afghanistan in Islamabad and London. Reports suggest a gathering of Taliban opponents was organised by a Pakistani entity in cooperation with her.

Following the meeting, Essa Mohammadi, an adviser to the National Resistance Front, shared a manipulated image of Koofi on social media and used gendered language to criticise her.

The move drew widespread reactions across social media and political circles.

Massoud said Afghanistan has endured years of deep wounds and suffering, much of which stems not only from external enemies but also from internal divisions.

He stressed that achieving a free Afghanistan, free from oppression and injustice, requires unity among people of all ethnicities, languages and religions, urging vigilance against division.

In a statement on Sunday, April 5, the court said two people in Shahjoy district of Zabul province were sentenced to prison and received between 30 and 39 lashes each.

It added that in Kohistanat district of Sar-e Pol province, six people, including a woman, were convicted on similar charges and given between 29 and 35 lashes. They were also sentenced to two to three years in prison.

Despite opposition from international organisations to torture and corporal punishment, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings. The group describes such punishments as the implementation of “Islamic Sharia”.

The Rawadari human rights organisation said in a report on March 25, that the Taliban had imposed cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments over the past year, including issuing law of retribution (Qisas) sentences for six people, stoning one woman and flogging 857 individuals.

The report also said that during the same period, 611 people, including 48 women and 35 children, were deliberately and mysteriously killed or injured by the Taliban and unidentified individuals.

According to the report, the victims were mainly former government employees, protesters, civil society and human rights activists, community elders and people accused by the Taliban of cooperating with opposition groups.

Local sources in Khost told Afghanistan International the clash occurred around 8pm on Sunday in the border area of Tani district, with gunfire reportedly continuing between the two sides.

Abdul Haq Fida, spokesperson for the Taliban’s 203rd Corps in south-eastern Afghanistan, claimed a Pakistani military post was destroyed. He added that the body of a Pakistani soldier had come into Taliban possession.

Officials from the corps released a video showing the body of a Pakistani soldier and claimed that at least four Pakistani troops had been killed so far.

The Taliban have not provided details about their own casualties.

Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on the incident or any reported losses.