Umar Hayat, aged 22, denies charges of murdering 17-year-old Sana Yousaf at her residence earlier this year.
Published On 20 Sep 2025
A 22-year-old man has been officially charged with the murder of Sana Yousaf, a 17-year-old social media star, who was fatally shot inside her home in Pakistan after allegedly rejecting his romantic advances multiple times.
The tragic killing of Yousaf in June sparked widespread outrage across the country and reignited urgent conversations about the safety of women, especially after some online reactions controversially placed blame on the victim.
Umar Hayat, also a TikTok content creator from Faisalabad in Punjab, appeared in an Islamabad court on Saturday where he entered a plea of not guilty as the legal proceedings commenced.
Addressing the court, Hayat firmly denied all accusations, stating, “The charges against me are completely unfounded and untrue,” according to reports from The Express Tribune.
The next court session is scheduled for September 25, during which witness testimonies will be heard and formal charges will be outlined, as confirmed by Islamabad’s judiciary.
Yousaf had amassed over a million followers across various social media platforms, including TikTok, where she regularly posted content featuring her favorite eateries, beauty routines, and traditional attire.
In Pakistan, TikTok enjoys immense popularity, partly due to its user-friendly nature that appeals to a population with relatively low literacy rates. The platform has become a rare avenue for women to gain both visibility and financial independence in a society where less than 25% of women are engaged in formal employment.
Authorities report that Yousaf was shot at point-blank range inside her home. Hayat allegedly gained entry, fired the fatal shots, and then escaped the premises.
Law enforcement officials have described the incident as a “brutal and premeditated homicide,” asserting that the motive was linked to Yousaf’s repeated refusals of Hayat’s marriage proposals.
Among the charges filed are murder and the confiscation of Yousaf’s mobile phone, which investigators believe was an attempt to erase evidence of her rejecting Hayat’s advances, according to Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, as reported by Dawn newspaper.
Some social media reactions to the murder reflected deeply ingrained societal attitudes, with comments implying that the killing was justified under traditional honor codes governing women’s behavior. One user remarked, “You get what you deserve.”
Violence against women remains a critical issue in Pakistan, with the Human Rights Commission highlighting frequent cases where women face attacks after declining marriage proposals.
A similarly harrowing case in 2021 involved Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman who was brutally murdered by her Pakistani-American boyfriend, Zahir Jaffer, after she turned down his proposal, a crime that provoked national outrage.
