Pakistan arrests man accused of spreading misinformation that fuelled right-wing unrest in Britain

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistani police have arrested a man accused of spreading false information online and contributing to anti-immigrant unrest in Britain.

This month, violence erupted across Britain after three young girls were killed in a knife attack during a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport, England, on July 29. Rumours quickly spread online that the attacker was a refugee and radical Islamist, and right-wing mobs attacked hotels housing asylum seekers, mosques and libraries.

Farhan Asif was arrested in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore and charged with cybercrime, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said in a report Tuesday seen by NBC News. Asif posted an article on the website of his magazine Channel3Now in which he falsely reported that British police had arrested a Muslim asylum seeker in connection with the Southport stabbings.

“The false claim, which was widely circulated on social media, incited right-wing extremists to engage in violent riots,” the report said.

Asif was also accused of posting false information on his X account without verifying its authenticity and “with the intention of glorifying the incident.” Police said his actions had “spread fear” in Britain and damaged Pakistan's reputation.

Authorities searched Asif's home and seized two laptops and a cellphone belonging to Asif, who “confessed his guilt” during on-site interrogation, the report said.

Asif told police that his X account was used to spread national and international news. The website appeared to be offline on Wednesday, and there had been no posts on the X account since August 12.

Asif had previously told British broadcaster ITV that he was not responsible for the violence, saying: “I don't know how such a small article or an insignificant Twitter account can cause so much confusion.”

More than 1,000 people were arrested in connection with the riots in Britain, and nearly 500 of them were charged. In a subsequent show of solidarity, anti-racism demonstrators poured into the streets, especially in neighborhoods with a high proportion of immigrants.

The suspect, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana, was born in the Welsh capital Cardiff to Rwandan parents and lived for years in a village near Southport, police said. Although authorities cannot normally report by name on Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the attack, due to reporting restrictions, a judge ordered the restrictions to be lifted to prevent the spread of misinformation.

The motive for the attack remains unknown.

Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar and Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong.