Dawn
-
16:39 Feb 27, 2026
LAHORE: A judicial magistrate at the district courts on Friday dismissed the post-arrest bail petition of a Canadian national pursuing doctoral research in Pakistan in a cybercrime case. Magistrate Naeem Wattoo announced the decision while hearing the bail plea of Hamza Ahmad Khan, after arguments from the prosecution and defence. Khan was booked by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for targeting state institutions and leadership through “disseminating misinformation and disinformation” under sections 20 (offences against the dignity of a natural person), 24 (cyber stalking) and 26A (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. During the proceedings, the investigating officer (IO) told the court that the suspect had been uploading “derogatory posts against the state functionaries and state institutions with the intention to harm the reputation of the state functionaries”. On behalf of the petitioner, Advocate Asad Jamal argued that the suspect had been falsely implicated in the c...