Pakistani Court Sentences Man to D£ath Over Murd£r of Teen Influencer Sana Yousaf

A court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death over the murder of teenage social media influencer Sana Yousaf, who was killed in June 2025.

According to reports, the convicted man, Umar Hayat, broke into Sana’s home after she repeatedly rejected his advances. Out of anger, he allegedly shot the teenager dead.

Hayat, now 23, reportedly confessed to the crime in July, admitting that he had developed a one-sided obsession with Sana following interactions with her on social media.

The court in Islamabad also ordered him to pay 2.5 million Pakistani rupees (about $9,000) in compensation to Sana’s family.

Reacting to the judgment, Sana’s father, Syed Yousaf Hassan, described the ruling as “a lesson for all such criminals in society.”

Investigators revealed that Hayat travelled to Islamabad days before the killing in an attempt to meet Sana and wish her a happy birthday. Although she reportedly refused to see him, he later made his way to her home, where an argument broke out before the fatal shooting.

Before her death, Sana had built a large following online, with over one million followers on TikTok and more than 500,000 followers on Instagram. She was widely known for sharing fashion content, lip-sync videos and moments with friends.

Following her death, activists described the incident as part of a wider pattern of violence against women in Pakistan.

Digital rights activist Usama Khilji said some online users blamed Sana for posting content online, with critics even calling for her social media pages to be deleted.

Human rights activist Farzana Bari condemned the reactions, describing them as “misogynistic” and “patriarchal,” while warning that social media has become an increasingly hostile space for female creators in Pakistan.