Taliban Deny Holding Missing Afghan-American Mahmoud Shah Habibi

DID Press: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Mahmoud Shah Habibi, the missing Afghan-American and former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, is not being held in any prison in Afghanistan, following the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s offer of a $5 million reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

Mujahid said Taliban officials had also conveyed directly to U.S. representatives that no person named Habibi is being held in Taliban prisons.

“If Mahmoud Shah Habibi were being held in Afghanistan, this issue would have been resolved by now,” Mujahid said.

The FBI has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to the location and recovery of Habibi.

Habibi, who holds Afghan and U.S. citizenship, was reportedly detained in Kabul in August 2022. His whereabouts and fate have remained unknown since then.

The United States has previously raised concerns over his disappearance, while the Taliban have repeatedly denied holding him.