A court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death for the murder of teenage social media influencer Sana Yousaf, a case that shocked the nation and reignited conversations surrounding violence against women.
The Islamabad court handed the sentence to 23-year-old Umar Hayat after he admitted to killing the 17-year-old TikTok personality at her home in June last year.
Investigators revealed that Hayat had become obsessively fixated on Yousaf following several online interactions and was unable to accept repeated rejection from the teenager.
According to reports, Hayat travelled to Islamabad days before the incident in hopes of meeting Yousaf to wish her on her birthday. Despite her refusal to see him, he later managed to enter her home, where an argument reportedly broke out before he shot her dead.
The court also ordered Hayat to pay 2.5 million Pakistani rupees (approximately US$9,000) in compensation to Yousaf’s family.
Speaking after the verdict, Yousaf’s father, Syed Yousaf Hassan, described the ruling as a lesson for criminals who commit violence against women and abuse public trust.
Sana Yousaf had built a strong following online before her death, attracting more than one million followers on TikTok and over 500,000 on Instagram through fashion videos, lip-sync content and lifestyle posts shared with friends.
The murder sparked outrage across Pakistan, with activists describing the tragedy as part of a wider pattern of violence and harassment faced by women, particularly female content creators active on social media platforms.
Authorities reportedly carried out extensive investigations following the killing, including raids across Islamabad and Punjab while reviewing footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras.
At the same time, the case also triggered backlash online from some social media users who criticised Yousaf’s work as an influencer, with certain individuals claiming her online presence conflicted with religious values.
Digital rights activist Usama Khilji previously said the criticism largely came from a small group of male internet users who questioned why Yousaf shared content publicly and even urged her family to remove her social media accounts after her death.
Human rights activist Farzana Bari condemned the reaction as misogynistic and patriarchal, warning that social media has increasingly become a hostile and unsafe environment for female creators in Pakistan.
