The Taliban have denied detaining Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American citizen and former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, who disappeared in Kabul in August 2022.

Habibi's family has long claimed that he is being held in Taliban custody. However, in a statement issued Thursday, 3 July, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that an internal investigation, conducted at the request of the family, found no evidence that Habibi had been arrested by any Taliban-affiliated agency.

The United States has recently offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location, recovery, and return of Habibi. The offer was announced under the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme.

Mujahid stated that all Taliban departments, including the General Directorate of Intelligence, are committed to upholding detainees' rights and are obligated to refer all detainees to judicial authorities within a defined timeframe. He rejected US allegations that the Taliban’s intelligence agency is involved in Habibi’s disappearance.

Habibi previously served as head of the Civil Aviation Authority and later worked with the Asia Consultancy Group, a telecommunications firm in Kabul. He remained in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 but was reportedly arrested just four days after returning from a trip abroad.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Taliban may have accused Habibi of collaborating with the CIA in locating Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda, who was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan district days before Habibi’s disappearance.

In recent months, Adam Boehler, a former senior adviser to US President Donald Trump on hostage affairs, visited Kabul and held talks with Taliban officials regarding the release of Habibi and other American detainees. Following these negotiations, the Taliban released two American citizens, though Habibi’s fate remains unknown.

Other Americans previously held and later released by the Taliban include Ryan Corbett, William McEntee, George Glezmann and Faye Hall. Taliban officials have stated that foreign detainees held in the past were allowed regular contact with their families.