DIG Operations Faisal Kamran confirmed that Farhan Asif, a resident of Defence Lahore, has been apprehended by local police and handed over to the FIA for further investigation.
According to DIG Kamran, Asif is associated with a news platform in Pakistan and is alleged to have disseminated false information regarding the identity of the perpetrator involved in the murder of three girls in the UK.
The spread of this misinformation reportedly triggered violent protests by far-right groups in the UK.
The incident in question involved a stabbing at a dance club in Southport, North West England, where three girls were killed and several others injured.
A website named Channel 3 Now had falsely claimed that the UK attacker was a Muslim refugee named Ali Al-Shakati. This misinformation led to violent protests and fueled riots across England and Northern Ireland.
Investigations by British media later revealed that Channel 3 Now, the source of the fake news, was being operated from Lahore by Farhan Asif.
Asif, however, has denied responsibility for the violence, downplaying the impact of the misinformation spread through his website.
“I don’t understand how a small article or a minor Twitter account could cause such widespread confusion,” Farhan Asif while talking to a media outlet.
A city magistrate on Wednesday granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) one-day physical custody of Farhan Asif, a suspect accused of spreading disinformation on his website that allegedly incited anti-Muslim immigrant riots in the United Kingdom (UK).
Earlier, the FIA’s cybercrime wing presented Asif before the magistrate, seeking his physical remand for further investigation.
The investigating officer informed the court that the suspect had been charged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016.
The magistrate approved the FIA’s request, granting a one-day remand of the suspect for questioning.
UK media reports revealed that a Lahore-based freelancer was linked to the spread of false information.
Investigators stated that Asif had shared images of a stabbing incident in England on his X account and published an article on his website blaming a 17-year-old Muslim immigrant for the attack.
Asif was initially detained by Lahore police and subsequently transferred to the FIA cybercrime wing for further investigation.
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