Man shoots dead Pakistani teen TikTok star for ‘rejecting' him
Pakistani police on Tuesday said a 17-year-old TikTok star was shot dead by a man who had repeatedly contacted her online.
Sana Yousaf, who turned 17 last week and had more than a million followers across her social media accounts, was killed at her home in the capital Islamabad on Monday evening.
The police have arrested a 22-year-old on suspicion of her murder who spent hours loitering outside her home.
'It was a case of repeated rejections. The boy was trying to reach out to her time and again,' Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said during a news conference.
'It was a gruesome and cold-blooded murder,' Rizvi added.
Yousaf had more than 800,000 followers on TikTok, a wildly popular platform in Pakistan, where she posted lip-sync videos, skincare tips, and promotional content for beauty products.
The last video posted on her account was hours before her murder, in which she was seen cutting a cake for her birthday.
'Rest in Peace' and 'Justice for Sana', read some comments under the video.
Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan according to the country's Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting marriage proposals are not uncommon.
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.
In 2016, Khadija Siddiqui survived being stabbed 23 times by a jilted ex-boyfriend.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
38 minutes ago
- Arab News
‘A flower snatched from us': Family demands justice for murdered TikTok influencer
KARACHI: The father of a teenage Pakistani TikTok influencer shot dead this week in Islamabad said on Wednesday he had wanted her to join the bureaucracy, but she had set her sights on the medical field to serve the people of Pakistan. Sana Yousaf, 17, was shot dead at her home on Monday evening by another social media influencer, 22-year-old Umar Hayat, after she rejected his repeated advances, Islamabad Police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi told reporters on Tuesday. Originally from Chitral, around 400 kilometers north of the capital, Yousaf had 1.1 million followers on TikTok and over 600,000 on Instagram. Her videos ranged from lip-syncing to songs to food tastings and makeup tutorials. The last clip posted to her TikTok account— a montage of her birthday celebration with friends— has already garnered 18.6 million views. 'My wish was for her to go on to do CSS [Central Superior Services],' Syed Yousuf Hasan, her father, told Arab News by phone from his ancestral village of Chuing in Chitral. 'But she insisted that she wanted to go into the medical field so that she could serve her country, Pakistan, and its people more,' he continued. 'That was her dream.' Yousaf was pursuing her goal of becoming a doctor and was enrolled in the Faculty of Science (FSc), a two-year pre-university qualification at the intermediate level. 'She was intelligent, talented and cheerful, and her presence would light up any gathering,' Hasan, a government officer, said. 'She was like a son to me, like a brave son.' Yousaf had been expected to travel to Chitral to celebrate Eid Al-Adha with her family. Hasan said she was especially close to him, her mother and her younger brother. Her uncle, Syed Kausar Ali Shah, described her as an 'exceptionally talented child' with a strong sense of purpose. 'She had a vision and used to say, 'Our parents have invested in us, and we will repay that by serving our ancestral region.'' 'NO FORGIVENESS' On Wednesday, an Islamabad district and sessions court remanded Hayat in judicial custody for 14 days, according to a police spokesperson. Yousaf's murder has sparked renewed outrage over women's safety in Pakistan. Activists and rights groups criticized social media users for victim-blaming the teenager as news of her killing broke. Violence against women is frequently reported in Pakistan, especially in cases involving rejected marriage proposals or women active on social media platforms like TikTok. Feminist groups and civil society activists have announced protests in several cities on Thursday to demand accountability for Yousaf's murder. Hasan, too, is seeking justice. 'If someone enters your home and kills, then there should be no forgiveness for that person,' he said. 'Our demand is that he be punished publicly in the same way he treated us.' Shah said the family and the people of Chitral were proud of Yousaf for standing her ground. 'She was our whole world,' he said, his voice breaking. 'She was a flower that was snatched from us.'
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
US hails Pakistan role in India ceasefire, counterterrorism cooperation
ISLAMABAD: The United States on Wednesday praised Pakistan's leadership for helping broker a ceasefire with India and deepening counterterrorism cooperation, saying such efforts had made both nations and the wider region more secure. The comments were made by US Chargé d'Affaires Natalie Baker at her country's Independence Day reception in Islamabad. The ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump on May 10 following a four-day standoff between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, during which the two sides exchanged missile, drone and artillery fire in one of the most intense military escalations in their recent history. 'Our collaboration helped broker a ceasefire between Pakistan and India, a reminder that when we stand together, even persistent tensions can find a path to peace,' Baker said in her remarks. 'I want to echo President Trump's deep appreciation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal [Asim] Munir for their leadership and commitment in choosing the path of peace,' she continued, calling their vision 'transformative' while hoping to 'take the US-Pakistan relationship into new frontiers.' The US diplomat described the security and defense cooperation between the two countries as a pillar of bilateral partnership. 'For decades, our militaries have trained together, operated together and stood together to address shared threats, from terrorism to regional instability,' she continued. 'Through joint exercises, capacity-building programs and military education exchanges, we've improved not only the security of our own nations but the safety of the wider region.' 'I want to acknowledge and thank our US and Pakistani military officials for your dedication, sacrifice and shared mission to make both our countries safer – a legacy we deeply honor,' she added. Baker cited Pakistan's recent capture and extradition of the Daesh militant responsible for the deadly 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul as a major milestone, saying it reflected growing operational trust between the two countries. The attack killed 13 American service members and over 160 Afghan civilians during the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. 'Thanks to the leadership and resolve of Pakistan's military and security authorities, terrorists are being brought to justice,' she said. 'As President Trump noted in his March address to the US Congress, the bravery and wisdom of Pakistan's leadership has made both of our nations more secure.' The event marked the 249th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, diplomats, business leaders and civil society representatives. Baker said the bilateral US-Pakistan relationship had grown stronger across multiple sectors, from security and trade to innovation and cultural exchange.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan condemns US veto of Gaza ceasefire bid, condemns storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Washington's decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, describing it as tacit approval for the 'continued annihilation' of Palestinians, while also denouncing the storming of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers this week. The US blocked a draft resolution tabled by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, which called for an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' between Israeli forces and Hamas, along with unhindered humanitarian access across the war-battered enclave. The United States said it would not support any measure that did not include provisions for Hamas to disarm and withdraw from Gaza. Reacting to the US decision, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, regretted the council's failure to adopt the resolution tabled by its ten elected members 'to address one of the most grave and sustained humanitarian catastrophes of our time.' 'Let us be clear: this failure will not go down in records as a mere procedural footnote,' he told the council. 'It will be remembered as complicity, a green light for continued annihilation, a moment where the entire world was expecting action, but yet again, this Council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility.' Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza a collapse of both international law and moral responsibility, Ahmad cited figures of over 54,000 civilian deaths, including 28,000 women and girls and 18,000 children, with nearly 100 Palestinians reported killed in the last 24 hours alone. He said the enclave had been 'decimated,' with famine, disease and displacement spreading faster than aid could arrive. The ambassador rejected arguments that called for delaying action to allow negotiations to proceed, questioning how much more 'space filled with rubble, graves and the anguished cries of children' would be needed before meaningful intervention took place. He reiterated Pakistan's support for a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and a negotiated two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state. Ahmed said the international community had spoken clearly through the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, while the Security Council remained 'muzzled.' AL-AQSA MOSQUE STORMING In a separate statement issued in Islamabad, Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem by Israeli settlers this week, calling it a 'direct assault' on the sanctity and legal status of one of Islam's holiest sites. According to media reports, dozens of Israeli settlers entered the mosque compound and performed Talmudic rituals, prompting condemnation from several Muslim-majority countries. 'These reprehensible acts, including violations at multiple entrances of the Mosque, are a direct assault on the sanctity, historical character, and legal status of the revered Muslim holy site,' the foreign ministry said, warning that such actions could ignite further unrest in an already volatile region. The ministry also expressed concern over the continued targeting of civilians in Gaza, saying that nearly 100 Palestinians had been killed in the span of a single day, including people waiting at food distribution points. It noted that Israeli forces were operating with impunity and called for their international accountability. Reaffirming Pakistan's position on the conflict, the ministry called for immediate steps to halt the violence, ensure access to humanitarian assistance and revive efforts toward a political resolution to the conflict.
