Tiktok Star, Sana Yousaf, Fatally Shot Dead After “Repeated Rejections” of Man

According to the police, a 22-year-old man has been arrested in Pakistan and has confessed to the murder of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf. The arrested suspect is the son of a former public servant. He is from the town of Faisalabad, in the province of Punjab, according to police.

Authorities say they believe Umar Hayat murdered Ms. Yousaf at her home in Islamabad on Monday after she rejected what they called his “offers of friendship”. He allegedly also repeatedly tried and failed, to meet her.

They say he broke into her home, fired two shots, stole her phone and fled.

Ms. Yousaf’s father, Syed Yousaf Hassan, said she was his only daughter, and was “very brave”. Her family have gathered in Chitral, where Ms. Yousaf has been buried.

Mr. Yousaf said she had never mentioned Hayat, nor any threatening behavior, before she was killed.

He said Ms. Yousaf’s aunt was at the family home when the suspect broke in, and that he had also threatened to shoot her before fleeing.

Ms Yousaf died before she could be taken to the hospital.

Police said the “brutal” murder caused “a wave of concern” across the country, and that there was “immense” pressure to find the killer.

They raided locations across the capital and the province of Punjab and scanned footage from 113 CCTV cameras.

The suspected murder weapon and Ms Yousaf’s phone have since been recovered.

Ms Yousaf already had a wide following in Pakistan, with half a million fans on Instagram before her death. Condolences have flooded her social media pages.

Given her high profile in Pakistan, news of Ms Yousaf’s death spread quickly in local news media and on social media platforms. It’s also ignited a fierce debate about women on social media.

While many have shared their outrage at news of Ms Yousaf’s death, there has also been backlash towards her work as an influencer.

Dr Farzana Bari, a prominent human rights activist, argued the reaction is “misogynistic” and “patriarchal”.

The Inspector General of Police for Islamabad, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, said women who choose to become social media influencers “deserve our encouragement and support”. He added Ms. Yousaf’s murder was “tragic”.