ISLAMABAD: A local court in Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday sentenced to death a 23-year-old man for the killing of teenage TikTok influencer Sana Yusuf last year, bringing to a close a case that commanded nationwide attention.
Umar Hayat shot Yusuf, 17, inside her home in Islamabad’s G-13 sector in June 2025 after repeatedly stalking her and attempting to contact her online, police said, adding that Hayat killed her after the TikTok star repeatedly rejected his advances.
The murder drew nationwide attention and raised serious concerns about gender-based violence in Pakistan.
“You are being sentenced to death for the murder of Sana Yusuf under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code,” Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict in a packed courtroom.
Majoka added that Hayat would also serve 20-year prison sentence and pay a fine of Rs2.4 million ($8,600) for additional offenses, which included trespassing and stealing Yusuf’s mobile phone.
Farzana Yusuf, the late TikTok influencer’s mother, broke down after hearing the verdict.
“Justice has been served, that’s enough for me,” she told Arab News while leaving the courtroom.
Parents of Pakistani TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf, who was killed for rejecting a man's proposal, address the media after a verdict outside the court in Islamabad on May 19, 2026. (AFP)
Her father, Syed Yusuf Hasan, said the verdict would serve as a reminder to criminals everywhere.
“It is a lesson for them that if someone commits this act [murder], then its outcome can be something like this,” he said. “It can be responded to with something like this from the judiciary.”
He said the sentence will serve as deterrence against gender-based violence in Pakistan.
“I fought this case for all the girls so that no other daughter is killed,” he said.
Sardar Qadeer, Yusuf’s lawyer, said the court had handed Hayat a 10-year prison sentence each after finding him guilty of trespassing the house and for mobile theft, along with separate fines amounting to Rs4 million [$14,285].
“The family took a strong stand,” Qadeer said. “We told them that while their daughter is gone, punishing the accused could help save others from such a heinous crime.”
Prosecutor Raja Naveed Hussain described the verdict as a “good example for society.”
“Obviously, this decision will create a positive impact upon the society that the courts are working very smoothly, positively and they are delivering justice as per the law,” he said.
GENER-BASED VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN
Yusuf had millions of followers on social media, where she posted videos about food, fashion and skincare.
She also spoke openly about relationship problems, a topic still considered taboo in the country.
Surveillance footage shown during the investigation captured the killer fleeing the influencer’s house with her phone.
Hayat confessed to the murder last year but later retracted his statement. Under Pakistan’s legal system, the convicted man can still challenge the verdict in a higher court.
Violence against women remains widespread in deeply conservative Pakistan, according to the country’s Human Rights Commission, and attacks on women after rejecting men are not uncommon.
The case revived memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan’s “Kim Kardashian” and one of the country’s first breakout social media stars, who was murdered in 2016 after her online fame drew controversy.
In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was beheaded by her Pakistani-American boyfriend, Zahir Jaffer, after rejecting his marriage proposal in a case that sparked nationwide outrage.
Jaffer was sentenced to death last year.
TikTok is hugely popular in Pakistan, partly because its video format is accessible in a country with relatively low literacy levels.
The platform has also provided many women with both an audience and a source of income — rare opportunities in a country where fewer than a quarter of women participate in the formal economy.
(Additional input by AFP)
