- PPP leader expresses concern over Bondi terrorist attack.
- Senator Sherry cautions against identity-based politics.
- Philippines authorities say Sajid visited country as Indian.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice President and Senator Sherry Rehman has urged the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to examine India’s alleged links to militant groups, following reports that the Bondi Beach attackers had an Indian background.
The December 14 incident during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach was Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years, and claimed the lives of 16, including one of the attackers.
In a post on X, Senator Sherry expressed concern over the terrorist attack, cautioning against the spread of misinformation and identity-based politics in the aftermath of the incident.
Her comments came in response to reports by Indian and Israeli media linking the attackers to Pakistan over their identity.
Australian media had identified the alleged gunmen, a father and son, as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram.
Later, Indian media confirmed that Sajid, 50, was originally from Hyderabad in India’s southern state of Telangana, and moved to Australia in 1998.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherry said that allegations levelled against Pakistan by Indian and Israeli media were “increasingly backfiring as facts continued to emerge”.
“Perhaps the [FATF] should also look into growing support from India for terrorist groups operating internationally. The fingerprints are piling up,” she wrote in her post.
Senator Sherry stated that the Bondi Beach attack was being deliberately diverted from its real purpose of spreading terror and instead framed “as an identity politics issue”.
She noted that although suspects were linked to a Muslim background, Muslim migrant Ahmed Al-Ahmed bravely confronted the attacker, saving multiple lives.
The politician condemned all forms of hatred, including Islamophobia, and reiterated that attacks on innocent people — whether at Bondi Beach or in Gaza — were unacceptable under any circumstances.
Bondi suspect arrived in Philippines as ‘Indian’
Earlier, the Philippines authorities also said that Sajid was an Indian national, citing the gunman’s travel documents.
Sajid and his son Naveed entered the country on November 1 with the southern province of Davao listed as their final destination, the Philippines immigration bureau had said.
The father and son spent nearly the entire month of November in the Philippines, authorities in Manila confirmed, with the father entering as an “Indian national”.
“Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025, from Sydney, Australia,” AFP quoted immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval as saying.
“Both reported Davao as their final destination. They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination.”
