'Abducted' Pakistani YouTuber posts first video after coming home
Aug 25, 2024
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 25 : Pakistani YouTuber Aun Ali Khosa posted a cryptic video on YouTube on Sunday where he is seen visibly scared in the beginning and then he eerily smiles, The Express Tribune reported.
He captioned the video as "loading..."
Earlier on August 20, Khosa's lawyers said that he had safely returned home. This is his first video after his alleged abduction in the intervening night between August 14 and 15.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) had instructed the Lahore police to locate Khosa by August 20, following a petition filed by his wife, Binish Iqbal. She had alleged that her husband was being held unlawfully by law enforcement authorities and expressed serious concerns for his safety, fearing he might be a victim of 'enforced disappearance'.
Iqbal's petition described Khosa as a "digital content creator, writer, and respected comedian/artist with a substantial YouTube following of 137,000 subscribers." It detailed that on August 15 at 2 a.m., a group of masked individuals and police officers forcibly entered his apartment, seizing his phone, laptop, computer system, and digital camera.
On August 15 Ali Sher Khosa, Aun Ali's brother alleged that the popular Youtuber had been kidnapped from his home.
"Today in the middle of the night my brother Aun Khosa has been taken into custody by some unknown armed men from his flat in Lahore. Kindly pray for him. Do spread the word as it will mean a lot to our family," he had posted on X.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had also expressed alarm over Khosa's abduction, suggesting it might be connected to his satirical work, and called for his prompt release, reported Dawn News.
Late night on August 19, Khosa's lawyer Khadija Siddiqi posted on X, confirming: "Alhamdulillah, Aun Ali Khosa has been released! He has reached home!"
In a separate post on X, Siddiqi expressed concern about the frequent abductions, stating: "Over the last two months, we have fought all missing persons cases, including Aun Ali's, at the Lahore High Court."
