Aftab Iqbal, a prominent satirical comedy show host, safely returned home on December 24 after disappearing for 20 hours in Dubai. Iqbal, who had traveled from London to Dubai with his wife, went missing shortly after arriving at the immigration counter at Dubai airport.

Confirmation of his safe return was posted on his official X account, with a message expressing relief: “Went through a tough time but Alhamdulillah, Aftab Iqbal has safely reached home, thanks to all who prayed for us.”

Upon his disappearance, Iqbal’s wife sought assistance from airport authorities, although initially, no information regarding his whereabouts was disclosed. His brother, Junaid Iqbal, suggested on social media that Aftab was “being stopped in transit” without clear justification and called for governmental intervention to facilitate his release.

His daughter, Ayesha Noor Iqbal, shared that the authorities confirmed his release after some time, stating he had a clean chit from the UAE government, though they provided no further details.

Mian Ali Ashfaq, Iqbal’s counsel, clarified via X that his client was not facing any legal issues in Pakistan and had not been included on any no-fly list, crediting judicial intervention for these assurances. Despite this, Iqbal was stopped last night at Dubai airport.

Aftab Iqbal, a holder of the UAE golden visa and resident of the country, is known for his work with major news networks such as Geo, Express News, Dunya News, and Samaa.