Pakistan accuses India, Israel of spreading disinformation linking it to Bondi Beach attack

Pakistan's Information Minister accused India and Israel on Wednesday of orchestrating a disinformation campaign that falsely linked Pakistan to the deadly Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, calling the episode a failure of journalistic standards by major international media outlets.

Attaullah Tarar, addressing foreign media in Islamabad, said the campaign spread "like wildfire" on social media and electronic platforms immediately after Sunday's attack, which killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration.

"When the incident occurred, certain media outlets were very quick to claim that one of the attackers was from Pakistan," Tarar said. "There was no evidence to back this claim, there was no documentation, and there was no verification."

He said the campaign was "launched from hostile countries attempting to malign Pakistan," naming Israel and India as the sources. "This campaign was spread on social media platforms, as well as electronic media platforms, which is very unfortunate."

Narrative unravels

The false narrative began unraveling Tuesday when the Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Sajid Akram, 50, had entered their country on an Indian passport in November. Later that day, Indian police in Telangana state confirmed Akram was originally from Hyderabad, India.

The minister showed journalists a video detailing how the campaign spread, saying it appeared to be organized. He expressed disappointment that reputable global media organizations had amplified unverified claims.

"There are structures, there is a hierarchy through which information is passed on, and editorial control is exercised. Even then, they failed to follow basic journalistic norms," he said.

"How is it possible that when you report on a terrorism incident, and you claim the attackers are from a certain country, you have no evidence whatsoever to back your claim? It really saddens us as victims of terrorism."

Anniversary of massacre

The press conference fell on the anniversary of the 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar, in which 147 people, including 132 children, were killed by militants. Tarar invoked the tragedy to underscore Pakistan's own losses to terrorism.

"We are a country whose children have made sacrifices, whose children have laid down their lives in this war against terrorism," he said.

Pakistan, he added, has consistently condemned terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations" and would continue to do so.

The Australian government has notably avoided emphasizing the attackers' ethnic origins in its public statements, instead referring to them as Australian citizens.