Youtuber Aun Ali Khosa reaches home safely

YouTuber Aun Ali Khosa, who was allegedly abducted on August 15, has returned home safely, his lawyers confirmed on Monday.

On Friday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the Lahore police to recover Khosa by Aug 20.

A day prior, his wife Binish Iqbal had filed a petition in the court claiming that her husband was “in the unlawful and illegal custody of the law enforcement authorities”.

Iqbal stated that the whereabouts of Aun were unknown and she feared for his “safety having strong apprehension that his husband has been a victim of enforced disappearance.”

According to the petition, Aun was a “digital content creator, a writer, and a dignified comedian/artist having a massive following of 137,000 subscribers on YouTube”.

It claimed that at 2am on August 15, a dozen police officials and “men with masked faces in plain clothes” barged into his apartment after breaking apart the entrance door.

The heavily armed men confiscated Aun’s phone, laptop, computer system, and digital camera, the petition further detailed.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had said that it was alarmed by reports of Khosa’s abduction, and concerned that the incident may be related to his work as a satirist and called for his immediate recovery.

On Monday, a little after midnight, Khosa’s lawyer Khadija Siddiqi shared a post on X saying: “Alhamdulillah, Aun Ali Khosa has been released! He has reached home!”

Another one of Khosa’s lawyers, Mian Ali Ashfaq, also confirmed his return home in a statement on X.

In another statement, Ashfaq said he had spoken to Khosa in great detail.

“Alhamdulillah, he is courageous, safe and determined,” Ashfaq said. “May Allah bless him and his family every step of the way.”

He also thanked Siddiqi for her support and representation.

In a separate post on X, Siddiqi lamented the recurring cases of abductions. “Over the last two months, we have fought all missing persons cases, including Aun Ali’s, at the Lahore High Court.”

“The kidnappers have the same method; they come in the dark of the night at 2 or 3am, break down the door, there’s about a dozen men with masks on their faces, carrying weapons.

“They take away mobile phones and laptops, and if there’s a CCTV installed, they remove it. They harass the victim and take him away,” Siddiqi said.

“Then, when the high court’s ruling comes, they return the victim to his house in the dark of the night.”

She expressed hope that this practice would come to and end, adding: “If someone has violated the law, bring them to court and prosecute them there.”