The family of a former Afghan official who was allegedly detained by the Taliban in Kabul last month says that they have “no information on his whereabouts.”
Ahmad Shah Habibi accused the Taliban of detaining his brother Mahmood Shah Habibi, former deputy chief of Afghanistan’s Aviation Authority, in the Shash Darak area of Kabul on August 10.
“The Taliban, who were wearing civilian clothes, detained Mohammad Shah Habibi in front of his house in the Shash Darak area. ... Later, they broke the gate, forced their way into the house, and took some documents, books and a laptop computer.”
The Taliban's representative did not respond to VOA's request for comment about the alleged disappearance and whether Habibi had been detained.
“No [Taliban government] agency has given us any information on his whereabouts. They have not let us meet him. And they have not told us why he was taken into custody,” said Ahmad Shah Habibi, who lives in the U.S.
He added that the armed men who detained Habibi introduced themselves to the family as “Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate,” a name used by the Taliban for their forces.
Habibi, a U.S. citizen, was working as a consultant for the Asia Consultancy Group (ACG), a Kabul-based telecommunication company.
A spokesperson for the State Department told VOA that they are “monitoring the situation but have no further comment at this time.”
“U.S. citizens should not travel to Afghanistan due to civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping,” said the spokesperson in an email Monday.
In August 2021, the United States and its NATO allies completely withdrew from the country after almost two decades of war with the Taliban, paving the way for the resurgent Islamist group to seize power.
Last week, the Taliban released Mark Frerichs, a U.S. citizen, in exchange for a Taliban drug lord, Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said that after being in captivity for 31 months in Afghanistan, Frerichs release was “the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments.”
He added that his government “continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and we will not stop until they are reunited with their families.”
The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett expressed his concerns earlier this month about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
He added that the U.N. received numerous reports of civilians being subjected to house-to-house searches and what appeared to be collective punishment.
“I am particularly concerned that former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and other officials of the former government remain subject to ongoing arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, despite the amnesty declared by the Taliban,” Bennett said.
Bennett said those committing these crimes appear to be acting with impunity and are creating an atmosphere of terror.
