Bondi massacre: Transnational terrorism

On a sunny Sunday afternoon at one of Australia’s most iconic beaches, evil descended upon families celebrating Hanukkah. The Bondi Beach massacre of December 14, 2025, where a father-son duo armed with rifles systematically hunted down and killed 15 innocent people, represents the latest horrific chapter in the ongoing global war against Islamic terrorism. The attackers, motivated by Islamic State ideology, specifically targeted Australia’s Jewish community in what

has become the country’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years. The chilling details emerging from the investigation paint a picture of calculated savagery. Sajid Akram and his Australian-born son, Naveed, 24, arrived at Bondi Beach with long-range rifles, homemade ISIS flags displayed on their vehicle, and a determination to maximise casualties. There are reports indicating that Naveed Akram, the 24-year-old son and one of the two attackers, studied at Hamdard University in Islamabad, Pakistan. Dashcam footage captured the first moments of heroism and horror-Boris and Sofia Gurman, a 69-year-old  and 61-year-old Russian-Jewish couple, attempted to disarm one of the attackers before being fatally shot. Another man, 43, wrestled a gun from an attacker despite being shot multiple times. Yet, despite such extraordinary courage, fifteen families now mourn loved ones murdered simply for being Jewish.

What makes this attack particularly alarming is its transnational dimension. The Akrams travelled to Mindanao in the Philippines in November 2025 — a region known as a hotbed of Islamic insurgency-before returning to execute their massacre. This pattern of international travel to extremist strongholds for training or inspiration echoes a disturbing global trend in Islamic terrorism.

The Thread That Connects Continents

The Bondi Beach massacre cannot be viewed in isolation. It is part of a relentless pattern of Islamic terrorism that has claimed thousands of lives across continents, with one nation’s shadow looming particularly large-Pakistan.

The September 11,  2001 attacks remain history’s deadliest terrorist assault, killing nearly 3,000 innocents. The mastermind, Osama bin Laden, was eventually discovered living comfortably in Abbottabad, Pakistan — not in a remote cave, but in a garrison town home to Pakistan’s premier military academy. This revelation exposed what many had long suspected: Pakistan’s role as a sanctuary for the world’s most dangerous terrorists.

India has borne the brunt of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for decades. The November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks-India’s 9/11-saw ten gunmen from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba conduct coordinated assaults across Mumbai over four days, killing 166 people and wounding over 300. The sophistication was undeniable: handlers in Pakistan directed operatives in real time via satellite phones, demonstrating state-level support and infrastructure behind the massacre.

Kashmir’s Continuing Agony

The recent Pahalgam attack in Kashmir added another blood-stained page to this chronicle. Hindu tourists were deliberately identified, separated, and executed in an act of sectarian terrorism timed to coincide with high-profile diplomatic engagements. The calculated nature of the attack-designed to maximise international attention and create communal discord-reveals the strategic thinking behind such violence.

What haunts investigators is the apparent local support network that enabled terrorists to operate in what should have been a secure tourist area. The questions are uncomfortable but necessary: were local businesses intimidated into silence? Does a network of sympathisers provide passive support to terrorist activities? The answers point to a deep-rooted challenge that extends beyond immediate security responses.

The Evolution of Terror

The November 2025 explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort introduced a terrifying new dimension-“white-collar terrorism.” The alleged involvement of medical professionals, including doctors, in planning and executing attacks represents a disturbing evolution. These educated operatives used sophisticated encrypted communication platforms such as Threema, employed spycraft techniques such as “dead-drop emails”, and even attempted to procure biological toxins like ricin. Investigations revealed connections to Jaish-e-Mohammed and the emergence of “women’s jihad” — systematic recruitment of educated women into terrorist networks. Dr Shaheen Saeed’s arrest and the discovery of the women’s wing, “Jamaat-ul-Mominat”, operating in India demonstrate how terrorist organisations are exploiting societal assumptions about gender to circumvent security measures.

Pakistan: The Persistent Problem

Threading through every major attack-from 9/11 to Mumbai to Pahalgam to the recruitment networks behind the Red Fort plot — is Pakistan’s role as sponsor and sanctuary of Islamic terrorism. Despite receiving billions in international counter-terrorism aid, Pakistan has operated a cynical double game: publicly condemning terrorism while privately nurturing terrorist groups as instruments of foreign policy.

The handlers directing the Mumbai attackers operated from Pakistani soil with impunity. The infrastructure supporting the Pahalgam attack traces back across the border. Masterminds of countless attacks live openly in Pakistan, often with state protection. Osama bin Laden’s discovery in Abbottabad was not an aberration — it was confirmation of a decades-long pattern.

The Global Response

The international community’s response has been woefully inadequate. Individual attacks provoke temporary outrage and social media condemnations, but systemic pressure on state sponsors of terrorism remains absent. China’s strategic interests in Pakistan, particularly the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, shield Islamabad from meaningful consequences. Western nations, preoccupied with their own geopolitical calculations, fail to maintain consistent pressure.

Even as Australians now grapple with their worst mass shooting in decades, the world must recognise that these attacks are not isolated incidents. The Bondi Beach massacre, like Mumbai, Pahalgam, and Delhi before it, represents symptoms of a systemic problem: state-sponsored radicalisation and the weaponisation of religious ideology.

The Path Forward

Combating this persistent threat requires more than grief and vigils. Intelligence capabilities must evolve to track encrypted communications and white-collar terrorism. Security protocols must account for sophisticated operatives exploiting professional credibility. Most critically, the international community must overcome geopolitical considerations to hold state sponsors accountable. Until Pakistan faces meaningful consequences for nurturing terrorist networks, until democracies develop effective counter-strategies for evolving threats, innocent people will continue dying at beaches, in hotels, at heritage sites, and on city streets. The time for half-measures has passed. Islamic terrorism-particularly that sponsored or sheltered by Pakistan-must be recognised as a global threat requiring coordinated, sustained, and decisive action.

The flowers laid at Bondi Beach, the vigils held worldwide, and the tears of grieving families all serve as painful reminders that, in the face of such evil, the world’s response must match the magnitude of the threat. Anything less dishonours those who have already paid the price.

The author is a retired Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard; views are personal