| Paul Overby | |
| Birth Date: | November 27, 1942 |
| Birth Place: | Illinois, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Other Names: | Paul Edwin Overby, Jr. |
| Known For: | Disappeared mysteriously in Waziristan |
| Occupation: | Author |
| Disappeared Place: | Waziristan, Pakistan |
Paul Edwin Overby Jr. (born November 27, 1942)[1] is an American author who disappeared on his way to Waziristan, in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, to interview Sirajuddin Haqqani. Overby's wife, Jane Larson, revealed it happened on May 17, 2014. Journalists agreed not to publish his identity until January 2017, when she agreed to make his identity public.
Larson had believed Overby had been kidnapped by the Taliban. However, on February 28, 2017, the Taliban released a statement denying that they had kidnapped Overby.
Reporters Without Borders called for his release, on January 27, 2017. On March 19, 2019, journalist David Rodhe, a former hostage himself, noted in The New Yorker, that Overby was one of the Americans still in captivity.
On May 8, 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his rescue. In addition, the US government's counterterrorism Rewards for Justice Program offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his location.[2]
In 1993, Overby published a book on the Soviet–Afghan War, Holy Blood: An Inside View of the Afghan War.