A Pakistani courtroom charged a person on Saturday with homicide for taking pictures a teenage social media influencer outdoors her residence earlier this 12 months after refusing his supply of friendship.
Choose Mohammad Afzal Majoka within the capital, Islamabad, indicted Umar Hayat for killing 17-year-old Sana Yousuf. Hayat pleaded not responsible.
Hayat, a 22-year-old TikTok content material creator, was arrested in June within the japanese metropolis of Faisalabad. Yousuf’s demise drew widespread condemnation.
Choose Majoka requested Hayat if he had killed Yousuf. Hayat replied that he had not. He additionally rejected the allegation that he had stolen her cell phone, a courtroom official instructed The Related Press. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not approved to speak to the media.
Footage on Pakistan’s personal Samaa TV channel confirmed police main a handcuffed Hayat to the courtroom.
Girls activists holding posters and pictures of TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf, who was murdered, participate in an indication condemning violence in opposition to ladies, in Islamabad on June 5, 2025.
FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Yousuf, initially from the scenic northern area of Chitral, was recognized for selling conventional Chitrali music and costume by means of her TikTok channel. She additionally advocated for women’ schooling. Hours earlier than her homicide, she had posted a birthday celebration photograph with associates.
Police described the killing as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” alleging Hayat killed Yousuf after she repeatedly rejected his proposals.
“You reap what you sow,” stated one remark.
TikTok enjoys immense recognition in Pakistan as a consequence of its easy-to-use and visually-led format, with tens of hundreds of thousands of customers. Girls have discovered each viewers and earnings on the app, which is uncommon in a rustic the place fewer than 1 / 4 of the ladies take part within the formal economic system.
Nevertheless it has additionally confronted short-term bans. The federal government has suspended the platform a number of instances, citing considerations that the app promotes immoral or illegal content material.
In July, police in Pakistan stated a father shot and killed his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account.
Violence in opposition to ladies is pervasive in Pakistan in response to the nation’s Human Rights Fee, and instances of ladies being attacked after rejecting marriage proposals usually are not unusual.
In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was beheaded by her Pakistani-American boyfriend, Zahir Jaffer, after she rejected his marriage proposal in a case that sparked widespread anger. Jaffer was sentenced to demise.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
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