Who killed Pakistani TikTok star Sana Yousuf? Teen shot dead for rejecting suspect's 'offers of friendship'
The accused, identified as 22-year-old Umar Hayat, also a social media content creator, was arrested on Tuesday by the Islamabad Police and was produced in court on Wednesday.
Umar is accused of shooting Sana Yousuf, who had more than one million followers on social media, after she rejected his offer of friendship.
The murder in Pakistan's capital city has sparked widespread outrage across the globe.
According to TV footage, Umar, with his face covered, was brought to court, where police requested additional time to complete their investigation and file formal murder charges.
The judge ordered that Umar be presented again on June 18 for pretrial proceedings.
Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, Islamabad's Inspector General of Police (IGP), told a media briefing on Tuesday: 'The accused is a 22-year-old unemployed man who repeatedly attempted to contact the victim. Upon her refusal to respond, he committed the murder.'
The suspect took Yousuf's phone with him to 'destroy evidence'. But police had seized her phone as well as the murder weapon from the suspect, Rizvi added.
The suspect and Yousuf had known each other for one year. He had travelled to Islamabad between May 28 and 29 to wish Yousuf well on her birthday, but the two could not meet, for unspecified reasons, Dawn reported, citing sources.
Authorities told BBC that they believe Umar Hayat murdered 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.
Sana originally hailed from the northern region of Chitral in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Through her videos, she promoted traditional Chitrali music and dress and advocated for girls' education.
Hours before Sana Yousuf was killed, she had posted a photo celebrating her birthday with friends.
According to The Express Tribune, Sana was shot at close range by an unidentified assailant who reportedly entered her home and opened fire before fleeing the scene.
The report, citing police sources, stated: "The killer reportedly entered the house and opened fire before fleeing the scene."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
2 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Trump really likes TikTok, but app has to move to US ownership
"The President really likes TikTok, and he said it over and over again, because, you know, it was a good way to communicate with young people," Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Who is Trisha Chatterjee? Indian-origin immigration lawyer who said ICE gave her Taco Bell number during client crisis — watch video
Trisha Chatterjee (Picture source: LinkedIn) Trisha Chatterjee, an Indian-origin immigration lawyer in Ohio, has alleged she was given the number of a Taco Bell outlet when she called ICE for urgent client support. Chatterjee posted about the incident on TikTok, where it went viral and ultimately led to help from another ICE official. But she says the larger issue lack of clear access to immigration authorities continues to cause serious harm to her clients. "I called and they answered and they said, 'Hello, Taco Bell?' And I said, 'Taco Bell?' And the guy who was working said, 'Yeah, Taco Bell. Ma'am, you called me," Chatterjee recalled. "I was in such disbelief," she said. "So, I called the ICE officer back, just really frustrated with what had just happened. He says, 'Oh, I'm sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood and make you laugh.'" ICE has denied the accusation. Homeland security called it a 'lie and a smear.' Chatterjee stood by her version of events. Who is Trisha Chatterjee? Trisha Chatterjee is an Indian-origin immigration lawyer based in Greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University in 2020 and the University of Dayton School of Law in 2023. She works with the law office of Emily Feliz Garcia, a small immigration firm in Springdale. Before this, she worked at Abdallah law offices. For the last two years, she has handled immigration cases, especially those involving clients detained at the Butler County Jail in Ohio, which has a contract with ICE. Chatterjee was trying to submit "stay of removal" applications—urgent paperwork that can pause deportation for clients with pending immigration cases. ICE requires these to be submitted in person at the Detroit field office, but she hoped to file them locally in Blue Ash. After being unable to reach anyone by phone or email, she finally spoke to an ICE officer who gave her a phone number that turned out to be for Taco Bell. When she called back, the officer reportedly said he was trying to make her laugh. She posted a video about the incident on TikTok, which gained over 38,000 views. Many users sympathised, and one even helped her connect with a helpful ICE official in Blue Ash, who is now assisting her. Chatterjee said the larger problem is the lack of access and communication with ICE. She also highlighted how a stricter bond policy is making it harder for immigrants to stay out of detention during legal proceedings. Bonds can cost up to $50,000 and must be paid upfront. According to Chatterjee, some clients are abandoning their asylum cases or choosing to self-deport out of fear. She mentioned recent local arrests of people attending ICE check-ins, which has only deepened anxiety in immigrant communities.
India.com
3 hours ago
- India.com
Is India's good friend cheating it over jointly developed air defense system? The friend is..., it is selling DRDO's...,
New Delhi: India and Israel have had a strong defense partnership for the last several decades. But this is the first time that questions have been raised on the intentions of the friendly country. Allegations are being made that Israel is marketing and trying to sell this air defense system alone, which it had made in collaboration with India's DRDO. What is the advanced air defense system in question? Barak-8 is an advanced air defense system. This is the same system that intercepted and shot down a Pakistani missile in the sky in Sirsa, Haryana. It has been developed jointly by India's DRDO and Israeli company Israel Aerospace Industries. According to the latest reports, Israel is now trying to sell this missile to some countries of the world by giving it a new name of 'Barak-MX'. Barak-8 was an important milestone in the strategic relations between the two countries, but Israel's attempt to sell this missile alone is going to trouble India. Why could it affect DRDO's credibility? A website named has claimed that Israel has not included the technology developed by DRDO in the export variant of Barak-8 air defense system. Especially the dual pulse rocket motor has not been included by Israel in the variant being sold. Israel's attempt to do so hurts the hard work of DRDO, its capability and the name it is building in the defense sector as it has made many weapons based on indigenous technology for India. What is the contribution of Indian entities in this project? India started this project in 2006 with Israel at an initial cost of Rs 2500 crore with an aim developing advanced air defense systems for both countries. This air defense system was designed to intercept ballistic missiles, advanced drones, cruise missiles and fighter aircraft up to the fourth generation. Major Indian defense companies including Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) were involved in the production of essential parts of this system. In collaboration with Israel, India has developed an advanced air defense system, which has also proved its capability by shooting down the Pakistani ballistic missile Fateh-2 in the air. DRDO developed a special dual-pulse rocket motor for the Barak air defense system which gives the missile fired from this air defense system the ability to maintain its speed and change direction suddenly until it hits the target. Israel also got a huge defense market like India for this missile defense system. Why is Israel selling this system unilaterally under a different name? Despite this, Israel is selling this system unilaterally under the name 'Barak MX' for which it has signed a deal with Azerbaijan for 12 Barak air defense systems. In 2022, Israel had signed a deal worth $ 500 million with Morocco. The main point of contention is that the Barak air defense systems that Israel is selling do not have dual-pulse rocket motors, which have been developed by DRDO. Reportedly, Israel is talking to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about the sale of Barak defense systems. Is Israel trying to bypass India? According to by using its propulsion system in the export model of the Barak Defense System, Israel is bypassing the help that India has provided at the technology level. Due to this, India is not getting any benefit in the global defense market. Apart from this, the situation is also not clear regarding the intellectual property and data rights related to this project, which raises questions on India's technical and economic participation. According to the report, Israel's doing this has put New Delhi into action. It is believed that if Israel tries to make partnerships on a unilateral basis, then both future strategic cooperation and trust in Israel may be affected. This may affect future defense agreements between the two countries.
