What Happened to Saqib Ayub After Saman Abbas Disappeared?

Saman Abbas and Saqib Ayub’s Relationship Explained.

Saqib Ayub was Saman Abbas’ boyfriend and the last person known to have spoken with her before she disappeared in May 2021, but his role in the case was very different from the suspicion that initially surrounded those closest to her. The young man from Rome had been building a future with Saman, only for their relationship to end in tragedy when she returned to her family home in Novellara, Italy. His story, later examined in HBO Max’s Saman: The Hidden Truth, is one of love, fear, a painful final argument and a remarkably complicated aftermath.

Saqib met Saman through social media around late 2020, when both were living in Italy after leaving Pakistan in very different circumstances. They began talking online before their conversations turned into something more serious. Eventually, the pair became a couple, despite the complicated circumstances surrounding Saman’s family life and her reported arranged marriage in Pakistan.

Saqib had moved to Italy alone in search of a better future, while Saman had arrived with her family. Their backgrounds were different, but both understood what it meant to build a life away from Pakistan. According to the series, Saqib admired Saman’s determination to make her own choices, particularly because he could identify with some of her desire for independence.

The relationship also became difficult to keep private. Saqib travelled from Rome to the Reggio Emilia area to meet Saman, and the couple eventually spent time together away from the people responsible for overseeing their accommodation. They were reportedly expected to keep details about their lives private, but romance has never been especially good at following administrative instructions.

Things became considerably more serious after Saqib posted a video of the couple dancing on social media. The clip reportedly ended with the pair kissing, and Saman’s family discovered it. Their reaction, according to the programme and a police complaint, was hostile.

One particularly serious allegation concerned Saman’s father. The supplied account says he allegedly travelled to Pakistan, gathered relatives and visited the family home with rifles to issue threats. That allegation was not proven because investigators lacked sufficient evidence, so it remains important to distinguish the claim from an established fact.

Saqib and Saman nevertheless continued their relationship. The pressure did not disappear, and according to the documentary, Saman’s parents repeatedly tried to persuade the pair to separate. The reason given was partly connected to her arranged marriage. Saqib and Saman reportedly refused and, by April 2021, were discussing a future together, including the possibility of marrying legally.

Then came the decision that changed everything.

Saman returned to her family home because she wanted to retrieve important personal documents that her parents had reportedly kept. Instead of simply collecting them and leaving, she stayed after her family persuaded her to remain for several days. Tensions followed. The account presented in the documentary says Saman also overheard conversations about a possible killing carried out in the name of family honour, although she was reportedly reassured that she was not the intended target.

Her messages to Saqib during this period became increasingly worrying. She reportedly told him she was frightened before later insisting that she could deal with her family herself. The pair also had an argument after Saqib began distancing himself, leaving Saman questioning whether he cared about her as much as she believed.

That argument became their final conversation.

Saman disappeared in the early hours of 1 May 2021, aged 18. Her family later became the focus of the investigation, while Saqib’s behaviour also attracted questions because he did not immediately contact police after losing contact with her. According to the documentary, however, investigators cleared him of suspicion relatively early.

The explanation presented was less dramatic than some might expect. Saqib’s decision to keep his distance was reportedly connected to concerns about protecting his own family in Pakistan. In other words, what could look suspicious from the outside was presented as a young man attempting to navigate a frightening situation without fully understanding where it was heading.

His public appearances during the investigation also became part of the story. Saqib continued speaking publicly about Saman, apparently wanting attention to remain on her disappearance and the need to find out what had happened. That visibility came with a cost. He faced criticism and reportedly remained concerned about possible threats against himself and his relatives.

Eventually, Saqib withdrew from public attention. Once members of Saman’s family had been arrested and the investigation progressed, keeping his private life private became considerably more understandable. Nobody really needs a permanent front-row seat to their own worst memory, after all.

The situation also affected Saqib’s family in Pakistan. According to the account provided in the documentary, Italian security authorities and the Italian consulate in Islamabad coordinated an operation to bring his parents and siblings to Italy. In April 2023, his family was flown from Pakistan to Italy, where they have reportedly remained under protective arrangements.

So, what happened to Saqib Ayub after Saman Abbas’ disappearance? He did not emerge from the case as another suspect. Instead, the documentary portrays him as a young man who lost his girlfriend, became caught in an investigation that attracted enormous attention and eventually stepped away from public life. He is now understood to be living quietly in Italy with his family.

There is also something particularly tragic about the final stage of Saqib and Saman’s relationship. Their last exchange was not some dramatic cinematic farewell. It was an argument between two young people dealing with fear, uncertainty and ordinary relationship problems while something far more serious was unfolding around them. Saqib apparently did not know it would be their final conversation, and Saman reportedly believed she could still manage the situation herself. That makes the story feel painfully human rather than neatly scripted.

My view is that Saqib’s story is one of the more complicated parts of the Saman Abbas case because it shows how easily fear can make people behave in ways that look strange afterwards. 

His decision to distance himself from Saman can certainly raise questions, particularly when viewed alongside the messages and events immediately before her disappearance. But suspicion and proof are not the same thing, and the supplied account says investigators cleared him relatively early. His later withdrawal from public life also makes sense given the attention, criticism and reported security concerns surrounding his family.

What stands out most is how young both Saqib and Saman were when all of this happened. They were trying to make decisions about love, family and independence while dealing with circumstances far beyond what most people their age would expect. And honestly, that makes the story even harder to process.

Saqib has since chosen privacy rather than continuing to revisit the case publicly. His life after Saman’s disappearance therefore remains largely outside the spotlight, which is probably why there are still so many questions about where he is and what happened to him. What do you make of Saqib’s actions in the final days before Saman disappeared? Was his distance understandable given the circumstances, or do you think it raises questions that still deserve closer examination?