In what police are calling a “cold-blooded murder” fueled by rejection and obsession, a Pakastani social media star was reportedly shot to death in her home, only hours after celebrating her 17th birthday.
On June 2, Sana Yousaf shared a TikTok clip, where she’s seen surrounded by balloons – a huge smile covering her face – as she cut into her birthday cake and celebrated her birthday with joy and innocence.
Online users initially flooded the comments with wishes for the young star, who has millions of followers across her social media accounts.
But soon, the celebration turned into a heartbreaking stream of tributes, as the section became a digital memorial for her sudden and tragic loss.
“She didn’t know this would be her last post,” writes one grieving follower on Yousaf’s Instagram page. A second shares, “This doesn’t feel real. You were glowing, just being 17. I’m so sorry this world didn’t protect you. Rest in peace, sweetheart.”
A third offers, “She passed away just 11 hours after her previous post. it’s truly unbelievable…This is the reality of our fragile world, anyone can leave at any moment.”
Killed in her home
On the evening of June 2, Yousaf was at her family home in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, when a man who had repeatedly contacted her online with “offers of friendship,” allegedly forced his way in, fired two shots and stole her phone before fleeing.
Yousaf, who was struck by a bullet, died before she could be taken to hospital, BBC writes.
Police confirmed on June 3 that they had arrested the suspect, 22-year-old Umar Hayat, who had reportedly been loitering outside her home for hours.
In a press conference, Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi revealed chilling details: “It was a case of repeated rejections. The boy was trying to reach out to her time and again…It was a gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” CBS reports.
Pattern of Violence
Yousaf’s tragic death has reignited painful memories of past cases in Pakistan, where women have been violently attacked or killed after rejecting unwanted advances.
In 2021, Noor Mukadam, 27, was beheaded in Islamabad by a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected.
And, in 2016, Khadija Siddiqui survived being stabbed 23 times by an ex-boyfriend after she tried to break free.
These stories, horrifying and too frequent, reflect a grim reality for women in Pakistan: the threat of violence for simply saying “no.”
‘Justice for Sana’
This wasn’t just a crime – it was a devastating symptom of a much larger issue and people are demanding justice.
“Justice for Sana!” echoed through the comments on Yousaf’s final TikTok video, which has now amassed over 18 million views.
“This needs to stop!” insists one user.
“We are living [like] in animals Pakistan. Every day we are hearing someone murdered. We are scared to go back to meet our family. It’s very [easy] to kill somebody in Pakistan,” writes a second netizen, who explains she and her family left Pakistan for the safety of Dubai.
Offering an opinion to punish the accused and not a gender, another shares, “Justice for Sana is everyone’s demand. But saying ‘don’t trust any man’ is unfair. Not all men are abusers. Some are brothers, sons, and fathers who protect and sacrifice every day even die for their loved ones. Let’s stand against the criminal, not against a gender.”
Sana Yousaf wasn’t just a TikTok star. She was a daughter, a sister, a dreamer. A teenager who had only just started carving her path in the world, one video at a time.
Her story is a painful reminder that the internet – while a place of fame and freedom – can also be a dangerous space when boundaries are not respected and obsession goes unchecked.
Please let us know what you think of this tragic story and then share it with others so we can also hear from them.
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