April 7, 2026
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
The Lahore High Court (LHC) granted post-arrest bail to Canadian national Hamza Ahmad Khan, who is also a Pakistani PhD scholar and was arrested in February in a cybercrime case.
The case had been registered against Ahmad, in late February, by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. In the FIR he was accused of posting anti-state content on social media platforms X and Instagram.
After a Sessions court and a judicial magistrate, rejected his bail applications, the petitioner approached the LHC seeking relief.
LHC grants bail
On March 31, a petition was filed before the Lahore High Court (LHC) by Ahmad’s lawyer Asad Jamal, in which serious allegations of unlawful arrest, procedural irregularities, and misuse of cybercrime legislation were raised. The petition, moved under Section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.), challenged the legality of the petitioner’s detention and sought post-arrest bail, naming the State and officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) among the respondents.
On Tuesday, April 7, Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan heard the case and approved the bail request, directing the petitioner to submit surety bonds worth Rs200,000.
During the proceedings, Advocate Asad Jamal who represented Hamza, concluded his arguments in court. The defence maintained that the sequence of events surrounding the case cast serious doubt on the credibility and transparency of the investigation.
Advocate Jamal argued that the charges were fabricated and driven by malice, aiming to involve the petitioner in unjust legal action. He further contended that no offence under the law had been committed and that the case lacked substance and merit.
The lawyer emphasized that bail should be treated as a right, with denial being an exception—particularly in situations where the prosecution lacks solid evidence. He also assured the court that there was no risk of the petitioner interfering with evidence, as it had already been collected.
Speaking to Voicepk, Jamal said, that he argued that the case did not fall within the scope of the prohibitory limb of Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure which is the overarching provision for bail matters.
“Instead, it’s a case of further inquiry and that there are no reasonable grounds or execeptional circumstances to deny bail under Section 497 of the Code. The court asked NCCIA officials about whether they had compiled a forensic report as the suspect was under custody for 48 days but the officials said they had just conducted technical analysis.”
Jamal argued that the maximum sentence under the case is three years or fine.
“It was only at trial that the court could decide about his liability. His client was already detained for close to two months,” said Jamal. “That the trial could take months to conclude and it would be unjust to detain his client for such a long period and would be tantamount to punishment even before his guilt and quantum of sentence is determined at trial.
The counsel asserted that the grant of bail is a right and refusal is an exception in such cases, especially when the prosecution is not conclusively equipped with evidence to bring the alleged case against the petitioner.
Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan allowed the bail petition, subject to furnishing surety bonds of Rs200,000. Jamal said his client might be released tomorrow when he submits the surety bond before the magistrate.
According to the case details, Hamza arrived in Pakistan on February 13 to work on his PhD thesis and was staying with an acquaintance, Rasheed, in Phase 10 of Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA).
A complainant reported that Hamza left the residence between 1am and 2am on February 19 after booking a ride and did not return. Despite efforts by friends to locate him, his whereabouts remained unknown.
He later resurfaced in NCCIA custody on February 23, a day after a kidnapping case had been registered against unidentified individuals following his reported disappearance.