Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), on Tuesday denied that IEA authorities detained Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman the US claims disappeared in Kabul four years ago.

“We have no information about Mahmood Shah Habibi. He is not with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. If he were, this issue would have been resolved long ago,” Mujahid said.

His remarks came a day after the FBI marked the fourth anniversary of Habibi’s disappearance and renewed its appeal for information about his whereabouts.

According to the FBI, Habibi disappeared near his home in Kabul on August 10, 2022. At the time, he was working as a consultant for Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company. He had previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.

The FBI has alleged that Habibi was detained by the IEA’s General Directorate of Intelligence.

The FBI has continued its investigation and in 2025 released a missing-persons poster for Habibi. The U.S. State Department has also offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return.

Afghanistan’s Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharei says the reclamation of state-owned land seized by land grabbers is a legal matter and should not be linked to ethnicity, religion or language.

Sharei, who also heads the Commission for the Prevention of Land Grabbing, made the remarks at a meeting with officials and representatives of charitable organizations in Kabul.

He said the commission is legally and religiously obligated to enforce rulings issued by the special court handling cases involving seized state land. Once the court determines that a disputed plot belongs to the state, the commission must enforce the decision, he said.

Sharei said the special court bases its rulings on documents, evidence and the law, adding that legal principles must be applied equally to all parties.

The justice minister also called on charitable organizations to work toward establishing a nationwide union and to expand their activities into fundamental and infrastructure projects.

He urged charities to avoid photographing or filming people while distributing aid, saying such practices could undermine the dignity of those receiving assistance.

Representatives of charitable organizations raised concerns over taxes, customs procedures and lengthy administrative processes. The Ministry of Justice said it would work to address the issues following the establishment of a nationwide union.