ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is probing the alleged role of a Pakistani national in spreading misinformation on his news website that fueled riots targeting Muslims and other ethnic communities in the United Kingdom this month, a senior police official confirmed on Wednesday.
Farhan Asif, a 32-year-old resident of Lahore, is accused of disseminating misinformation on his digital platform that the 17-year-old British-born suspect in the July 29 stabbing deaths of three girls in Southport was an immigrant and a Muslim.
As misinformation about the suspect traveled online, angry far-right crowds attacked the British Muslim community at mosques and asylum centers throughout the UK in early August. As per various media reports, Black and Asian Britons were also targeted in the week-long riots as the British government cracked down on the violence, arresting over 1,100 people.
Lahore’s Deputy Inspector for General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran told Arab News police interviewed Asif after it received a video from British channel ITV regarding his alleged role in spreading the misinformation on his website named Channel3Now.
“He was not arrested, just being interviewed and then we handed him to the FIA to probe,” Kamran explained, adding that police did not have the capacity to deal with this type of cybercrime.
“In that interview, we tried to vet his travel history, accounts, and other things but what we understood was that this is not the purview of the police,” he said. “It is better that the case should be referred to the FIA.”
The Lahore police official said the FIA would take action against Asif depending upon their findings. He said UK authorities had not contacted Pakistan so far regarding the probe, adding that Pakistani police had decided to look into the matter as it concerns the country and could have implications on the Pakistani community in the UK.
Kamran said Asif had revealed during his interview that the misinformation originated from a Russian website which was shared by a woman in the UK. It was then picked there from Asif and published on Channel3Now.
“Obviously he was the cause of amplifying this misinformation as it went viral,” Kamran said.
The police official said Asif admitted to police he owned Channel3Now and had reposted the Russian content there to generate traffic. Kamran said Asif had explained he had done so as the number of advertisements he receives from search engine giant Google depends on the volume of traffic the website attracts.
“It was a trending topic in the UK, so he said he posted on his website to gain traffic,” Kamran said.
Pakistan police question Lahore resident for spreading misinformation that fueled UK riots
https://arab.news/bkuhu
Pakistan police question Lahore resident for spreading misinformation that fueled UK riots
- Farhan Asif, 32, is accused of disseminating false news that British suspect in UK stabbing was Muslim and immigrant
- As misinformation traveled online, far-right groups targeted Muslim communities and ethnicities across UK this month
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
