YouTuber Aun Ali Khosa, who was reportedly abducted on August 15, has returned home safely, as confirmed by his legal counsel on Monday.
On the previous Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered the Lahore police to secure Khosa’s recovery by August 20, in response to a petition filed by his wife, Binish Iqbal. She alleged that her husband was being held “unlawfully and illegally” by law enforcement authorities, expressing deep concern for his safety and suggesting that he might be a victim of an enforced disappearance.
The petition detailed that Khosa, a prominent digital content creator with 137,000 YouTube subscribers, had been taken from his apartment in the early hours of August 15. It was reported that around a dozen police officers, accompanied by unidentified individuals in plain clothes, forcibly entered Khosa’s home, seizing his phone, laptop, computer system, and digital camera.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) raised alarms over Khosa’s alleged abduction, implying that it might be related to his work as a satirist. The HRCP called for his immediate release.
In the early hours of Monday, Khosa’s lawyer, Khadija Siddiqi, announced on X that Khosa had been released and was now back at home. Another lawyer representing Khosa, Mian Ali Ashfaq, also confirmed his safe return, noting that he had spoken to Khosa at length.
“Alhamdulillah, he is courageous, safe, and determined,” Ashfaq stated, expressing gratitude to Siddiqi for her support and representation.
In a separate statement, Siddiqi condemned the ongoing pattern of abductions, revealing that in the past two months alone, they had handled multiple missing persons cases at the LHC, including Khosa’s. She described the abduction process as involving masked men breaking into homes at night, confiscating electronics, and intimidating the victims before eventually releasing them following court orders.
Siddiqi expressed hope for an end to these practices and urged that those responsible for violating the law be held accountable through the judicial system.
