The reported midnight pickup of Canadian-Pakistani PhD scholar Hamza from Lahore is not just an isolated incident it is a chilling warning to every academic, journalist, activist, and citizen in the country.
According to reports, Hamza was in Pakistan conducting research on human rights and political thought when he was taken around 3:00 a.m. This represents a direct assault on academic freedom, constitutional protections, and the very idea of lawful governance.
No warrant shown.
No public explanation.
No transparency.
State abductions through ISI, are not about national security they are about suppressing voices that question power. When institutions begin targeting researchers and critics instead of criminals, it signals fear of accountability, not strength.
If intelligence agencies can remove a scholar in the dead of night without due process, then the rule of law becomes hollow. A state that silences inquiry reveals its own insecurity.
This is not strength.
This is not patriotism.
This is coercion dressed as authority.
Enforced disappearances are not tools of stability. They are instruments of intimidation. They aim to create a climate of fear where speaking, researching, or questioning becomes dangerous.
A nation cannot demand respect abroad while crushing dissent at home.
History is clear: Power built on silencing voices eventually collapses under the weight of its own injustice. The question now is simple: Will the state uphold law, or continue down a path where fear becomes policy?