Islamabad, Feb 24 (IANS) The Lahore police remains clueless about the whereabouts of a Canadian national, who was allegedly kidnapped on February 19, local media reported.
Hamza Ahmad Khan, a Canadian citizen who is doing doctoral research, disappeared in the early hours of February 19 after leaving his residence in Lahore, according to the First Information Report (FIR) lodged at the police station, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.
The FIR was registered after Khan’s friend, Yousuf Rasheed, filed a complaint, in which he mentioned that Ahmad arrived in Pakistan on February 13 to work on his PhD thesis and was staying with him in the DHA. He said that Ahmad booked a cab through ride hailing service and left from house on February 19 between 1 am – 2 am and he remains missing since then.
Rasheed told police that they tried to find Ahmad on their own, however, they were unsuccessful, fearing that he might have been kidnapped. He demanded legal action against those responsible for the alleged kidnapping.
Speaking to Dawn, Ahmad’s brother, Awais Ahmad Khan, stated that their family had contacted the ride-hailing service to obtain details regarding the ride, alleging that it was cancelled midway. He said that his brother dropped a girl at her house in the cab and left for his residence, however, he did not reach there.
According to Awais, they have the CCTV footage of the house where Hamza Ahmad Khan dropped the girl and left for his house, however, he did not arrive there. He mentioned that the cab company did not provide them details, however, they assured them they would give details to law enforcement agencies if contacted, adding that no one from the police contacted the company.
Awais Ahmad Khan stated that police was not cooperating with the family. He mentioned that they will seek assistance from the Canadian embassy to register the case, adding that the family is considering filing a plea in the court to find Hamza Ahmad Khan, Dawn reported. He stated that he lives in the US while their family hails from Karachi, where their parents currently reside.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Muhammad Naveed stated that investigators have not yet found the whereabouts of Hamza Ahmad Khan. Naveed said, “We are still clueless about the whereabouts of the abducted person,” adding that police obtained initial details from the complainant and the ride-hailing service.
–IANS
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