Muhammad Amanullah — September 4, 2026
A Pakistani man in Abu Dhabi has won a massive lottery prize of Dh15 million after purchasing lottery tickets regularly for 15 years.
The 64-year-old Pakistani citizen, Shoaib Aftab, was reportedly informed about his life-changing win while he was in Pakistan. However, when lottery officials called to tell him that he had won the huge prize, he initially suspected that the call was a scam.
The unexpected news was so difficult for him to believe that he did not immediately accept that he had won the prize.
He Initially Thought the Call Was a Scam
According to lottery officials, Aftab was contacted by phone and informed that he had won Dh15 million.
Because of the enormous amount involved and the unexpected nature of the call, he initially believed that someone might be attempting to deceive him.
Lottery officials then advised him to verify the information by checking his ticket number on the official lottery website.
When Aftab entered his ticket number and checked the result online, the win was confirmed.
Only after verifying the ticket did he become convinced that the phone call was genuine and that he had actually won the Dh15 million jackpot.
15 Years of Waiting Finally Paid Off
Aftab had reportedly been purchasing lottery tickets regularly for the past 15 years.
After years of trying his luck, he finally secured one of the biggest prizes in the draw.
His story became particularly remarkable because the news he had apparently been waiting for for years was initially so unbelievable that he thought it could be a fraudulent call.
The confirmation through his ticket number ultimately turned what appeared to be a suspicious phone call into one of the biggest pieces of good news of his life.
Four Indians and a Bangladeshi Also Win
Other expatriates also won prizes in the same lottery draw.
According to the report, four Indian nationals and one Bangladeshi citizen each won prizes of Dh100,000.
Several people from different nationalities therefore emerged as winners in the same draw, but the biggest prize went to Pakistani citizen Shoaib Aftab.
The Scam Call That Turned Out to Be Life-Changing News
One of the most striking aspects of Aftab’s story was his initial reaction to the phone call informing him about the prize.
With fraud and scam calls becoming increasingly common, treating an unexpected call with caution is generally considered sensible.
In this case, however, checking the ticket number provided the confirmation he needed.
After visiting the lottery website and verifying his ticket, Aftab discovered that the information provided over the phone was genuine and that he had indeed won Dh15 million.
Luck Finally Arrives After 15 Years
Aftab’s story illustrates how a long period of waiting can sometimes end with an extraordinary result.
He had been regularly purchasing lottery tickets for 15 years before finally winning the massive prize.
For him, the most surprising moment came when he was told over the phone that he had won a life-changing amount of money.
What he initially believed to be a scam call ultimately became one of the happiest announcements of his life.
The Abu Dhabi lottery draw not only made Shoaib Aftab the winner of a Dh15 million prize but also brought an unexpected and memorable conclusion to his 15-year journey of buying lottery tickets and hoping for a major win.
