LAHORE: A judicial magistrate at a district court on Wednesday issued a notice to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) while hearing a bail petition of a Canadian national who was arrested in a cybercrime case.

Hamza Ahmed Khan, who was pursuing doctoral research, had reportedly gone missing last week, leading to the registration of a first information report. He turned up in NCCIA’s custody on Monday and was sent to jail on judicial remand. Subsequently, he filed for post-arrest bail.

On Wednesday, Advocate Asad Jamal appeared before the magistrate on behalf of Khan. During the hearing, the magistrate directed the NCCIA’s investigating officer to submit a record of the case on Thursday.

In his petition, the applicant alleged that he was abducted on the night between Feb 18 and 19, while travelling in a cab in Lahore.

The petitioner claimed that the first information report (FIR) against him by the FIA’s cyber crime wing was registered a day later on Feb 21, with “malafide intentions” to conceal the alleged abduction incident.

The bail petition contended that the sequence of events raised doubts about the legality and transparency of the investigation against the petitioner.

It argued that there was no direct or corroborative evidence linking the petitioner to the alleged offence.

The NCCIA registered the case against Khan under sections 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person), 24 (cyber stalking) and 26A (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca).

According to the FIR, during the course of inquiry, it was verified that Khan was uploading “derogatory posts against the state functionaries and state institutions with the intention to harm the reputation of the state functionaries”.

It further said that the suspect was posting derogatory content to “defame and malign the constitutional and political leadership of Pakistan, incite hatred and undermine the integrity of the state.”