As per reports, Khan had been staying with a friend in Lahore. He went missing on 19th February, when he was expected to meet his family to spend Ramadan with them. However, when he did not show, his family grew concerned. It was on 22nd February that the family learnt that he had been picked up by the NCCIA and was in prison. Khan was also produced before a Pakistani court and sent to a 14-day custody. Khan is lodged in the Lahore district jail under Pakistan’s 2016 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
“It’s the worst conditions that you can imagine,” Ahmed Khan’s brother, Awes Ahmed Khan, told CBC Toronto on Tuesday (24th February). “It’s multiple people in a single cell…It’s (not) fit for a decent human person,” he added.
According to CBC, an official report of the NCCIA mentioned that Hamza Ahmad Khan has been in their custody since 21st February, as it found that his X and Instagram accounts were “disseminating misinformation and disinformation targeting state institutions. The report termed Khan’s social media posts as “inflammatory” and capable of harming the reputation of Pakistan. “The nature of these posts is inflammatory and appears designed to incite public unrest, spread animosity, and undermine social order,” the report stated. “The propagation of such malicious content poses a significant risk, with the potential to cause severe reputational damage to the state of Pakistan both domestically and internationally,” it added.
Pakistani government accused Khan of harming the country’s reputation
Khan’s brother Awes rejected NCCIA’s allegations and said that his brother uses social media to engage in intellectual discussion. “He’s a person who’s very articulate. He talks with rhetoric. He debates with people sometimes on critical issues, and a lot of times those issues are related to his background,” Awes said.
While the NCCIA has claimed that Khan has been in their custody since 21st February, his friend alleged that he went missing in the morning of 19th February during a trip with ride-hailing service Yango. Khan’s family contacted Yango, which told them that Khan’s trip was cancelled halfway through.
His family lawyer, Asad Jamal, said that Khan was abducted and not arrested on 19th February, as the action was not taken in compliance with the law. “He was not informed about the circumstances and the reasons for being taken into custody,” Jamal said.
