For twelve years, the world believed it was simply missing.
In reality he lived in prison with his five children, locked in a room and completely isolated from the outside world.
The protagonist of this story is Sylvie Yasmina, a French town that, according to the Pakistani authorities, would be held under the control of her husband, Ahmad Khan, after being transferred from Australia to Pakistan in 2014.
For over a decade she and her children would have lived in extremely difficult conditions, confined in a building in the Bara area, near the border with Afghanistan.
According to the authorities, children never attended school and prolonged isolation would have had heavy consequences on their physical health.
The turning point came thanks to the courage of the eldest son.
At 18, he managed to escape the father's surveillance and walk to a police checkpoint, telling what was happening.
Agents intervened immediately.
After breaking into the house, they released Sylvie and her five sons and arrested her husband, ending a nightmare that, according to the authorities, lasted twelve years.
Today the woman and her children are in a protected structure, under the protection of the Pakistani authorities, while the French embassy is working to organize their return to France.
This story shows how difficult it can be to bring out situations of isolation and violence that are consumed away from the eyes of the world.
And also remember that sometimes one person's courage is enough to change the fate of an entire family.