***
The terrorist attack that recently rocked Sydney’s Bondi Beach has devolved into a high-stakes geopolitical information war, following the confirmation of the primary assailant’s identity and subsequent refutation of early, misleading claims linking the perpetrator to Pakistan.
Initial investigations have established that the 48-year-old attacker, Sajid Akram, is of Indian origin, specifically hailing from Hyderabad in the state of Telangana. Sources indicate Akram’s father is Indian while his mother is Italian. This revelation sharply contradicts the swift and aggressive propaganda campaign launched by certain international media outlets immediately following the tragedy.
### The Disinformation Blitz
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, which claimed multiple lives, Israeli media, notably the *Jerusalem Post*, published reports labeling the attackers as Pakistani. Concurrently, social media accounts linked to India’s external intelligence agency, RAW, began circulating similar claims aimed at fueling anti-Pakistan sentiment regarding the terror incident in Australia.
This intense, focused propaganda campaign was quickly exposed as misleading. Pakistani officials in Australia confirmed that there was no intelligence or community reporting to suggest the attackers were of Pakistani nationality. Furthermore, official Australian briefings provided to date have consistently refrained from mentioning any link to Pakistan.
### Unmasking the Attacker’s History
The sources circulating propaganda also falsely claimed that Sajid Akram was in Australia on a tourist visa. Official records show that Akram arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa. This status was formally converted to a partner visa in 2001 following his marriage to an Australian woman identified as Warrina.
Indian police have since issued a statement confirming Sajid Akram’s connection to Hyderabad. Despite this domestic clarification, certain Western media sources continued to propagate the narrative, with some claiming US intelligence confirmation of the attackers’ Pakistani origin—a claim yet to be substantiated by official government releases.
### New Evidence and Context
The investigation into the attack continues to yield crucial findings. New South Wales Police Commissioner confirmed that security personnel discovered both an improvised explosive device (IED) and two flags belonging to the terror group ISIS inside the vehicle used by the assailants.
### A Hero Amidst the Chaos
The violence was mitigated by the extraordinary bravery of civilian responders. Notably, Muslim citizen Ahmed Al-Ahmed intervened, confronting the attacker and saving dozens of innocent lives, particularly during an event involving the Jewish community nearby. Ahmed Al-Ahmed was subsequently hospitalized in critical condition, with doctors noting he risks losing his left arm due to his injuries. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited him in the hospital to commend his heroism.
Simultaneously, the father of another civilian who helped subdue the attacker, Muhammad Fateh, credited his son’s bravery with saving dozens of additional lives.
These incidents highlight the rapid shift from a localized terrorist act to a theatre for international geopolitical blame-casting, underscoring the critical need for verification amidst escalating transnational information warfare.
