Overview
- Lahore police registered a case against unidentified persons after Canadian national Hamza Ahmed, a University of Toronto PhD student, went missing from Defence A on February 19.
- An FIR filed by his friend and host, Yousuf Rashid, states Hamza booked a private cab that night and did not return.
- Deputy Inspector General Faisal Kamran said investigators are pursuing all angles, including whether the scholar’s research on anti-imperialist politics is connected to the case.
- A special team led by SP Cantt Division Akhlaq Ullah Tarar, with the ASI of Defence Circle and SHO Defence A Khurram Shehzad, is analyzing CCTV and other evidence.
- The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan urged authorities to trace and recover him, while some activists alleged his disappearance reflects a broader clampdown on dissent.