Pakistan says ‘hostile countries’ behind false online claims linking it to Australia shootings

ISLAMABAD —  Pakistan’s information minister says that his country has been the victim of a coordinated online disinformation campaign following the terror attack at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

Attaullah Tarar accuses “hostile countries,” including India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, Tarar says Pakistan’s leadership strongly condemns Sunday’s attack, which killed 15 people in an antisemitic shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah.

The minister says misleading information began circulating almost immediately after the attack, with social media posts falsely identifying one of the suspects as a Pakistani national named Naveed Akram. He says the claims spread rapidly across digital platforms and were repeated by some media outlets without verification.

Tarar said subsequent findings, including confirmation by Indian police, established that one of the attackers, Sajid Akram, was from India, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram — who was also involved — was born in Australia.

The minister says the misinformation appeared to stem from a case of mistaken identity, as a Pakistani man living in Sydney shares the same name as one of the two suspects.

“How do we restore the situation to where it was before the Bondi Beach attack?” Tarar asks, adding that the Pakistani man also named Naveed Akram had released a video denying any involvement and urging the public not to associate him with the attack.

Tara says the Pakistani man was “a victim of a malicious and organized campaign” and that the disinformation effort originated in India.

There is no immediate response from Indian officials.

Tarar calls on media outlets that published the false reports to issue apologies and says Pakistan has not yet decided whether to pursue legal action.