Afghanistan, July 3 -- Mujahid stated that Afghan-American Mahmood Shah Habibi is not in custody and no affiliated agencies have detained or received reports about him.

The Taliban have denied accusations by the United States regarding the detention of Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman and former head of Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated on Wednesday that Habibi is not in their custody and that no Taliban-linked agency has detained him.

Mujahid added that, following requests from Habibi's family, internal investigations were conducted across all relevant departments. However, the Taliban claim to have found no evidence or trace of his arrest.

This statement contradict...