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By Ariz Riaz :
A Canadian doctoral student who was reported missing last week in Lahore has been taken into custody by Pakistan’s cybercrime agency on charges of spreading anti-state content on social media, officials said Monday.
Hamza Ahmad Khan, a PhD scholar at the University of Toronto, was produced before a magistrate by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which secured a 14-day judicial remand.
The development came just hours after police registered a kidnapping case on the complaint of his friend, who reported that Khan had vanished in the early hours of February 19 after leaving his residence in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority.
Cybercrime Allegations
According to an FIR registered by the NCCIA, Khan’s accounts on X and Instagram were found to be actively disseminating misinformation targeting state institutions during routine cyber patrols.
The case was registered under multiple sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, including offences against the dignity of a natural person, cyber stalking, and spoofing.
Investigators alleged that the content was inflammatory and appeared designed to incite public unrest, spread animosity, and undermine social order. The agency claimed the posts posed a significant risk of causing reputational damage to Pakistan both domestically and internationally.
The FIR further alleged that Khan was uploading derogatory posts against state functionaries and institutions with the intention of harming their reputation and undermining the integrity of the state.
Background
Khan had arrived in Pakistan on February 13 to conduct doctoral research, according to friends and activists who described his work as focused on anti-imperialist politics. He was staying with a friend at the time of his disappearance.
The case had drawn concern from human rights organizations. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had previously expressed grave concern over his disappearance, urging authorities to trace his whereabouts.
Political activists condemned the incident, with some describing it as an attack on dissent and academic freedom. An opposition alliance issued a statement asserting that the right to pursue academic research and express scholarly views is fundamental in a democratic society.
Lahore police had earlier admitted they were “clueless” about Khan’s whereabouts, with investigators stating they had yet to determine what had happened to him.
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