Sana Yousaf | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: After a sessions court on Tuesday sentenced Umar Hayat to death for the murder of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf, the detailed order made public on Wednesday observed that the accused deserved “no leniency” as there were “no mitigating circumstances” in the case. Last year, Umar Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — was arrested a day after 17-year-old Yousaf was shot dead in her Islamabad house on June 2, 2025. The 23-year-old convict had confessed before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that he shot Yousaf. In his statement, he admitted developing a one-sided obsession with her after online interactions, and said jealousy and suspicion drove him to commit the crime. On Monday, he retracted the earlier confessional statement, but was found guilty and handed a death sentence on Tuesday. Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, who announced the verdict a day earlier on May 19, noted in his 27-p...

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad sessions court sentenced Umar Hayat, the main accused in the Sana Yousaf murder case, to death on Tuesday after finding him guilty of killing the teenage TikTok influencer at her residence in June last year. Hayat was arrested a day after 17-year-old Yousaf was shot dead in her Islamabad house on June 2, 2025. On Monday, 23-year-old Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — retracted his earlier confessional statement admitting to Yousaf’s murder. Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict on Tuesday, handing Hayat the death sentence under Section 302(b) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for committing qatl-i-amd (intentional murder) of Yousaf. The death sentence would be subject to confirmation by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) under Section 374 (sentence of death to be submitted by court of session) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The court also directed the convict to pay Rs2.5 million as compensation to th...

The prime accused in the high-profile murder case of teenage social media influencer Sana Yousaf has pleaded not guilty before a local court in Islamabad, formally rejecting his alleged confession in the case.

ISLAMABAD: The prime accused in the murder case of 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf retracted his earlier confessional statement admitting to the murder while testifying before the trial court on Monday, alleging that Islamabad police had falsely implicated him in the case. Last year, Umar Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — had confessed before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that he shot Sana. In his statement, he admitted developing a one-sided obsession with her after online interactions, and said jealousy and suspicion drove him to commit the crime. On Monday, Hayat maintained in his statement under Section 342 of the CrPC that he was falsely implicated. Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) allows a trial court to question an accused person regarding any incriminating evidence against them. Its main purpose is to ensure a fair trial by providing the accused an opportunity to explain the circumstances before pr...

An Islamabad court indicted accused Umar Hayat in the murder case of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf on Saturday. The accused pled not guilty to murdering Yousaf, who was shot dead at her house in June. During the hearing, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka enquired whether Hayat had killed Sana. “I did not commit any such crime,” the accused replied. The judge then asked him whether he was falsely accused in the case. “Is this all a lie?” the judge remarked. He also pointed out that Hayat had also been accused of snatching Yousaf’s mobile phone. At that, the accused maintained that all allegations levelled against him were “based on falsehood”. The court then adjourned the hearing until September 25. Islamabad police had arrested Hayat on June 3, a day after Yousaf was killed at her house in Islamabad. Preceding his arrest, a first information report (FIR) of the murder was registered at Islamabad’s Sumbal police station against an unidentified man on the complaint o...

An Islamabad court on Friday extended the physical remand of the main suspect in the murder case of social media influencer Sana Yousaf for another three days. Islamabad Police had arrested Umar Hayat, the main suspect in the 17-year-old’s murder, on June 3, nearly a day after she was gunned down in her house in the federal capital. Police had claimed the man murdered Sana because she repeatedly refused his advances. Hayat was presented before the court of Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Hafeez upon the completion of his four-day physical remand. His 14-day judicial remand at the Adiala Jail for his identification parade had already been completed, with the victim’s mother and aunt identifying him. Deputy district public prosecutors (DDPPs) Adnan Ali and Raja Naveed Hussain, along with Investigation Officer (IO) Mazhar Bashir Khan, appeared on behalf of the state before Magistrate Hafeez. Hussain informed the judge that the vehicle used by the suspect had been recovered, while his phone was yet to be taken into ...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Prosecutor on Tuesday appointed a two-member prosecution team to assist in the investigation and ensure the comprehensive preparation of the charge sheet in the murder case of TikTok star Sana Yousaf. The District and Sessions Courts have taken this step to strengthen the legal process in the ongoing investigation. The appointed team […]

First Lady and MNA Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari has condemned the murder of teenage social media influencer Sana Yousaf in Islamabad, who was gunned down on the eve of her 17th birthday last week, saying that the incident should not silence girls and discourage from trying to achieve their dreams. Sana Yousaf was shot dead at her residence in Sector G-13 in the presence of her mother and aunt by an unidentified man who fled the scene. Police arrested the suspect Omar Hayat within a few hours who police claimed murdered Sana because she repeatedly refused his advances. Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the suspect was arrested from Faisalabad within 20 hours of the incident. A local court approved a 14-day judicial remand of the prime suspect to facilitate his identification parade. Calling it a stark reminder of the violence women and girls face simply for asserting their rights, Aseefa extended her condolences to Sana’s family, the community in Chitral, and all those grieving this senseless loss. “Sana wa...