YouTuber Aun Ali Khosa, who was allegedly abducted on August 15, has safely returned home, his lawyers confirmed on Monday. The Lahore High Court (LHC) had earlier ordered Lahore police to recover Khosa by August 20, following a petition filed by his wife, Binish Iqbal.
The petition alleged that Khosa, a popular digital content creator with 137,000 YouTube subscribers, was taken from his apartment in the early hours of August 15 by a group of heavily armed men, including police officials and masked individuals in plain clothes. The intruders reportedly confiscated Khosa’s phone, laptop, computer system, and digital camera.
Iqbal expressed fears for her husband’s safety, suspecting that he had become a victim of enforced disappearance. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also raised alarms over Khosa’s abduction, expressing concern that it might be related to his work as a satirist.
A little after midnight on Monday, Khosa’s lawyer, Khadija Siddiqi, announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Khosa had been released and had safely returned home. Another lawyer representing Khosa, Mian Ali Ashfaq, also confirmed his return and praised Khosa’s courage.
Siddiqi, reflecting on the recurring pattern of such abductions, highlighted the alarming frequency with which individuals are taken in the dead of night by masked men, only to be released following court orders. She called for an end to these practices, urging that any legal accusations should be addressed through proper judicial channels.
