Pakistan court sentences man to death for murder of teenage influencer Sana Yousaf
Umar Hayat, 23, receives death penalty for killing 17-year-old Sana Yousaf; victim’s father calls ruling a societal lesson as experts link crime to broader culture of entitlement.
A court in Pakistan has sentenced Umar Hayat, 23, to death for the murder of 17-year-old TikTok and Instagram influencer Sana Yousaf. The verdict, delivered on Tuesday in Islamabad, concludes a high-profile case that has reignited national debate regarding women’s safety and the intersection of social media presence with gender-based violence.
Sana Yousaf was shot dead at her home on June 2 last year. Police arrested Hayat in Faisalabad, a city approximately 320km south of Islamabad, within 20 hours of the incident. Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi characterised the crime as a case of “repeated rejections” escalating into fatal violence.
In a recorded statement provided to police in July, Hayat confessed to the murder, attributing his actions to a one-sided obsession that developed following online interactions. He admitted to travelling to Islamabad between May 28 and 29 to wish Yousaf a happy birthday, though the two could not meet for unspecified reasons. Following a phone call on June 2, Hayat rented a Toyota Fortuner and brought a 30-bore pistol to Yousaf’s residence.
According to the confession, Hayat entered the home despite Yousaf not coming out to meet him. An argument ensued, which escalated into the murder, witnessed by her mother and aunt. In a subsequent statement, Hayat attempted to deny this sequence of events, claiming there was no quarrel and no contact, but the initial confession formed the basis of the prosecution’s case.
Hassan Yousaf, the victim’s father, stated outside the court that the verdict serves as a lesson for society rather than just for him as an individual. “This is a lesson for all such criminals in society that if they commit such an act, they can get such a result,” he said.
Experts and advocacy groups have framed the killing within a wider context of misogyny and entitlement. Nighat Dad, executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation, told Al Jazeera that the incident reflects a culture where women are punished for asserting boundaries. She noted that when young women say no to romantic or sexual advances, it bruises the male ego in a society that often teaches men entitlement over women’s bodies and choices.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) underscores the scale of the issue. The commission reported that 346 women were killed in the name of “honour” in 2024, an increase from 324 in 2023. Recent years have seen several incidents involving young women with social media presences being subjected to violent crimes by men they know, prompting calls for stricter enforcement of laws and cultural shifts.
