RASC News Agency: U.S. Senator Chris Coons has asserted that incontrovertible evidence confirms Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghanistani–American citizen and former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, is being held by the Taliban. Despite these mounting proofs, the Taliban has consistently denied detaining Mr. Habibi. Their chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, even claimed to have “sent messages to all Taliban prisons across Afghanistan” yet allegedly found “no indication” of this Afghanistani-American detainee’s presence a statement many observers view as an implausible attempt to deflect international scrutiny. Habibi was seized in Kabul in August 2022 and has since vanished without trace, his fate shrouded in silence. The U.S. Department of Justice has placed a $5 million reward for information leading to his recovery. His family maintains that the Taliban arrested him under the fabricated accusation of involvement in the U.S. drone strike that killed former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul a charge they categorically reject. Ahmad Shah Habibi, the detainee’s brother, has urged the CIA to leverage its clandestine channels with the Taliban to secure his release, underscoring the urgency of the case.
While the Taliban continues to insist there is “no evidence” of his detention, the FBI has directly contradicted these claims, issuing a public statement that it has reason to believe Mr. Habibi is indeed being held by Taliban military or security forces. Despite years of talks between the Taliban and both the Trump and Biden administrations, no meaningful progress has been made toward his liberation a stark reminder of the regime’s intransigence and duplicity in its dealings with the West.
Sources familiar with the matter have recently disclosed to the media that Mr. Habibi was quietly transferred from Kabul to Kandahar, where he is reportedly being held in a high-security prison under the direct supervision of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada’s elite forces. Such revelations not only challenge the Taliban’s official narrative but also reinforce a broader perception of the group’s habitual dishonesty, their systematic targeting of Afghanistani professionals, and their ongoing disregard for international humanitarian norms.
