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Fact Check: Sydney attacker identified as Indian national, not Pakistani
India media outlets and social media accounts falsely asserted that the attacker who gunned down at least 15 people on Bondi beach in Sydney, Australia, was a Pakistani national.
The claim was made just minutes after the attack on Sunday after it was revealed that the attacker was named Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram. According to media reports, police have still not disclosed the identity of the attackers.
Father-son duo
Australia’s public broadcaster, ABC News, reported that it has identified the gunmen as Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24. The Australian government or local police has not yet confirmed the ABC’s report.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a news conference that “the offenders are a 50-year-old and 24-year-old who are father and son”. “The 50-year-old male is a licensed firearms holder who had six firearms licensed to him,” Lanyon said.
Various credible media outlets including ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, and Daily Mail Australia, described him as a bricklayer with ties to Sydney and strong Australian connections.
ABC News and Sydney Morning Herald report him as a Sydney south-west resident, with police raiding his family home in Bonnyrigg. He has local employment history and community links in New South Wales.
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Indian false claims
Indian media and social media outlet labelled Akram as “Pakistani national,” “from Lahore,” or “Pakistani-origin”. This can be seen here, here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also falsely claimed that Naveed was a student of Hamdard University, Islamabad, and graduated in 2020. A fake university ID card and LinkedIn account of another similarly named person was shared as evidence.
This was quickly debunked as an individual aged 24 cannot have joined university in 2016 aged just 11. A false university ID card was circulated with his recent picture while the university does not offer the Plant Sciences degree as mentioned.
Naveed Akram is a common name in Pakistan, India and other countries with a South Asia diaspora. No official Australian sources indicate Pakistani nationality or birth. Police statements focus on his local status, with no foreign citizenship mentioned.
‘Indian national’
Reuters reported on Tuesday that father and son spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, authorities in Manila confirmed on Tuesday, with the father entering as an “Indian national”.
Australian police said both men had travelled to the Philippines last month and the purpose of the trip is under investigation.
Philippines immigration officials said both men travelled to Manila and onward to Davao on November 1 and left on November 28, just weeks before the Bondi shooting. The father travelled on an Indian passport, while the son was on an Australian passport, officials said.
Philippines Bureau of Immigration said they travelled to the Philippines on November 1 aboard Philippine Airlines Flight PR212 from Sydney to Manila and onward to Davao. They departed on November 28 on the same flight number, PR212, from Davao via Manila back to Sydney.
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Conclusion
It has been concluded that Indian media outlets and social media propaganda accounts falsely claimed that the Sydney attacker was a Pakistani national or had recently traveled to the country.
Thus, the claims that gunman allegedly responsible for the mass shooting in Sydney was a Pakistani are false.
