LAHORE: Police on Saturday registered a kidnapping case against unidentified suspects after a Canadian national pursuing doctoral research allegedly went missing in Lahore three days ago.

A police station in Defence Housing Authority registered the case under kidnapping charges on the complaint of Yousif Rasheed, a friend of the Canadian citizen who has been identified as Hamza Ahmad.

According to the first information report (FIR), Ahmad arrived in Pakistan on February 13 to work on his PhD thesis and was staying with his friend in DHA Phase 10.

The complainant stated that Ahmad had booked a cab and left the home between 1am and 2am on February 19 but did not return. He said that the friends searched for Ahmad on their own but were unable to trace his whereabouts.

The FIR stated that unknown persons may have kidnapped Ahmed, requesting legal action against those responsible.

Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran confirmed to Dawn that a kidnapping case had been registered against unidentified suspects and that efforts were under way to recover the Canadian national.

“At this stage, we do not know who might have kidnapped Ahmad or whether he went missing under other circumstances,” the DIG said, adding that police were making all-out efforts to trace him.

He said the motive behind the alleged kidnapping was also unknown, adding the investigation was ongoing and that further developments would be shared as the search progressed.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed grave concern over the incident.

In a post on X, the commission stated that it was deeply troubled by reports that Ahmed had “gone missing” while conducting “field research” in Pakistan.

“Colleagues in Lahore have alleged that he was abducted by unidentified persons on February 19,” it said.

The commission urged authorities to “immediately” trace his whereabouts and ensure his safe recovery and return home.

Academics, political activists and social media users also expressed concerns over the alleged abduction.

In a social media post on X, political activist Ammar Ali Jan stated that he had recently met Ahmad in Lahore.

He described him as a PhD scholar from Canada working on anti-imperialist politics and said, “Yesterday, Hamza was abducted in Lahore. This regime is waging a relentless attack on dissent.”

The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) also commented on the matter on X, saying that “the right to pursue academic research and express scholarly views is fundamental in a democratic society”.

It added that “silencing researchers through harassment or forced absence undermines intellectual freedom and weakens institutions”, and that Ahmad “deserves fairness, safety, and the opportunity to continue his academic work without fear”.