The city of Islamabad, Pakistan, is in the throes of a national reckoning after the formal indictment of Umar Hayat, a 22-year-old man accused of murdering 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf. The case, which has gripped the country since early June, has reignited fierce debate over women’s safety, digital harassment, and the perils faced by female creators in Pakistan’s rapidly evolving social media landscape.
On September 20, 2025, Hayat appeared in Islamabad’s district court before Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka. He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and theft, insisting, “All the allegations made against me are baseless and false,” according to reports from AFP and BBC. Despite his denial, investigators have described the killing as “brutal and carried out in cold blood.”
The facts leading up to this grim event are as disturbing as they are clear. Sana Yousaf, a first-year medical student and a beloved TikTok creator with over a million followers, was shot dead in her home in Islamabad’s G-13 sector on June 2, 2025. The attack came after she had repeatedly rejected Hayat’s persistent advances—both online and offline. According to an FIR filed by her mother, Farzana Yousaf, a man entered their home with a pistol and shot Sana intentionally. Hayat was arrested the next day in Faisalabad, after allegedly fleeing the scene and taking Sana’s mobile phone in an attempt to erase evidence, as reported by Gulf News and DW.
During the hearing, Judge Majoka pressed Hayat on the allegations. Hayat denied both the murder and the theft of the phone, a detail confirmed by a court official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. However, in a confessional statement submitted to the court and cited by several outlets, Hayat admitted developing a one-sided obsession with Sana through social media. He revealed that jealousy and suspicion had driven him to commit the crime. According to Dawn, Hayat confessed to traveling to Islamabad on May 28—just before Sana’s 17th birthday on May 29—armed with a firearm. After forcing his way into her home, he shot her in front of her mother and aunt, then fled, taking her phone and erasing their conversations.
Hayat’s remorse, as reported by Gulf News, was palpable in a recent hearing, where he reportedly told the magistrate he felt “deeply ashamed” for taking the life of an innocent teenager. But for many across Pakistan, the damage was already done. Sana’s murder has sparked outrage both online and in the streets, with activists and ordinary citizens alike condemning not just the crime, but the subsequent wave of victim-blaming that followed on social media.
Sana Yousaf was more than just a digital personality. Originally from the scenic northern region of Chitral, she was known for promoting traditional Chitrali music and dress, advocating for girls’ education, and sharing glimpses of her life at cafes, exploring skincare, and donning traditional outfits. Her last Instagram video, posted just hours before her death, showed her surrounded by balloons, cutting a cake, and celebrating her birthday with friends. Her following soared after her death, with her TikTok account now boasting more than two million followers, according to BBC.
The case has become a flashpoint for broader issues plaguing Pakistani society. TikTok, with tens of millions of users in the country, has become a rare platform where women can find both an audience and income—especially significant in a country where fewer than a quarter of women participate in the formal economy. Yet, the platform’s popularity has come with risks. The government has imposed temporary bans on TikTok, citing concerns over immoral or unlawful content, further complicating the landscape for creators like Sana.
Women’s rights organizations and international watchdogs have seized on Sana’s killing as emblematic of a much larger problem. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 28% of Pakistani women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence, and 6% have faced sexual violence. Human Rights Watch estimates that roughly 1,000 women fall victim to so-called honor killings each year in Pakistan. “Violence against women and girls—including rape, murder, acid attack, domestic violence, denial of education, sexual harassment at work, and child and forced marriage—is a serious problem throughout Pakistan, and the government has not taken meaningful steps in response,” Human Rights Watch noted in its latest report.
The killing of Sana Yousaf is only the latest in a string of high-profile attacks on women in Pakistan. In 2021, Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman, was murdered after refusing a marriage proposal—a case that also drew national and international scrutiny. More recently, in 2024, men attempted to cut off the legs of 22-year-old Sobia Batool Shah for seeking a divorce. Protests in Islamabad and other cities have followed each tragedy, with demonstrators demanding systemic change and an end to patriarchal violence.
Yet, even as condolences flooded Sana’s social media pages and her story dominated headlines, some online voices blamed her for her own death, reigniting the debate over victim-blaming and the double standards women face in public life. The backlash against such commentary has been swift and fierce, with activists urging the government and society at large to focus on the perpetrators—not the victims—of gender-based violence.
The court has adjourned the case until September 25, 2025, as the country awaits the next chapter in a trial that has become a symbol of both the promise and peril of life online for Pakistani women. Footage aired on Samaa TV showed Hayat, handcuffed, being led into court—a stark image that has come to represent the collision of old prejudices and new possibilities in a rapidly changing society.
As the proceedings continue, Sana’s legacy endures in the millions who followed her, the girls she inspired to embrace their culture and pursue education, and the activists who now rally in her name. Her story, tragic as it is, has become a catalyst for national introspection and a renewed call for justice and equality in Pakistan.
The coming weeks will determine not only the fate of Umar Hayat but also, perhaps, the direction of a society grappling with how to protect its daughters in both the real and digital worlds.