Teenage social media influencer shot dead in Pakistan

The Hindu

2 days ago

A teenage social media influencer, who had more than a million followers across TikTok and Instagram, was shot dead at her residence in Islamabad, officials said on Tuesday (June 3, 2025), in a third such incident in Pakistan in the last five months.
Sana Yousaf, 17, was mercilessly shot dead on Monday (June 2, 2025) at her house in Islamabad's Sector G-13/1, falling under the jurisdiction of the Sumbal police station, police said.
She has over 740,000 followers on TikTok and close to 500,000 on Instagram.
Islamabad police arrested an accused, identified as Umar Hayat, also known by his nickname 'Kaka', in Faisalabad, Geo TV reported on Tuesday.
Hayat, also a TikToker, has confessed to the murder, the channel said.
The accused, who had come to meet Sana at her residence, is said to have fired two shots, resulting in her death.
Sana lived with her father, a government officer, her mother, a housewife, and her 15-year-old brother, who is currently visiting their hometown of Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Only Sana's aunt was with her in the house at the time of the crime.
The girl had a conversation with the suspect before he brutally shot her twice, her aunt told police.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised Islamabad police for swift action to nab the killer in a social media post.
'Well Done Islamabad Police. Sana Yousaf murder case traced, accused arrested and weapon recovered within 20 hours,' he said in a statement on X.
The Minister added that the police have recovered a pistol and iPhone of the deceased from the accused, who has confessed to the murder.
Sana's mother has filed a case against the suspect under Section 302 of the PPC.
This isn't the first time a female social media influencer has been killed in Pakistan. There has been a constant rise in such incidents in recent months.
A female TikToker in Punjab's Khushab area was killed by her cousin recently. Similarly, in February, another female TikToker was found dead at her home in Peshawar.