Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon is running as a candidate from the opposition in the upcoming general election next month.
A London-based barrister, Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon, who disappeared last week upon arriving in Pakistan to participate in the upcoming general election, has re-emerged safe and well. Allegations of unlawful detention by the authorities had arisen, prompting concerns for his safety.
Colleagues in the UK, including those at London’s Legis Chambers, expressed worry when Kahloon vanished shortly after landing at Islamabad airport. He intended to stand for the opposition PTI party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the forthcoming general election.
A petition shared on LinkedIn, supported by general counsel, solicitors, and academics, urged the Bar Council to issue a public statement expressing concern. The petition called for disclosure of Kahloon’s whereabouts and condition, as well as respect for his human rights by those allegedly holding him unlawfully.
However, on Tuesday (16 January), Kahloon announced on X that he had returned, stating that he had “secured pre-arrest bail today in a politically motivated case against me at the Sessions Court [in] Sargodha.”
He expressed gratitude, saying, “A special thanks to all of my family, friends, and well-wishers in Pakistan and abroad for their prayers, kind thoughts, and messages of support.”
In response to the positive development, Sam Townend KC, chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales, remarked, “We are pleased to learn that London-based barrister Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon has now been released from detention in Pakistan. We have been in contact with his chambers and colleagues to offer advice and support.”
Kahloon’s situation had triggered a strong reaction from friends and colleagues. The petition garnered signatures from numerous lawyers who had been his peers at Cardiff University, where he held the position of president of the law society.
According to The News International, an English-language Pakistani newspaper, on January 10, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the High Court of Islamabad had “reprimanded” the authorities and instructed them to present Kahloon after he failed to attend a protective bail hearing.
Munawar Iqbal Duggal, the Additional Attorney General, had asserted, as reported by The News International, that Kahloon could be seen on CCTV cameras leaving the airport for “an unknown location with three to four persons without resisting them.”
Subsequently, Kahloon reportedly appeared in a video on social media, stating that he was “staying with a friend” and distancing himself from the PTI.
