'A blind murder' or honour-killing? Police say man shot Sana Yousaf after 'repeated rejections'. All you need to know about the case

Sana Yousaf, a Pakistani teen influencer who was shot dead in her own house in Islamabad, was killed for rejecting a man multiple times, the authorities said. The 17-year-old was shot dead in her own house just a day after her birthday. As the case disclosed, massive speculation emerged that it was a case of honour-killing, but Pakistani authorities' latest claim contradicted the speculation. Although authorities have confirmed that a 22-year-old man from Faisalabad, Umar Hayat, killed her after she repeatedly rejected him, many suspected the truth might be different and it could be the case of honour-killing only. The speculation emerged because the distance from accused's house to Islamabad is around 322 kms.

Pakistan Police said the suspect had only done his matriculation (equivalent to high school in US). Authorities said he belonged to a lower-middle-income family, with “no source of income."

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi posted on the social media platform X saying the accused has confessed to the murder and that the weapon had been recovered.

A case of 'repeated rejections'?

Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, in a press conference on June 3 said it was a case of “repeated rejections."

“A monster, cold-blooded murderer is now in the law’s grip,” IG Rizvi said.

He said that the accused wanted to “become friends” with Yousaf but she rejected the advance. Police claimed that the accused "tried to meet her for seven to eight hours but failed.”

“First, it was a cellular rejection. Now, it was a physical mode of rejection," Rizvi said in the press conference.

“It was a blind murder; there were no leads, and things were not clear," Rizvi said.

Police further claimed that her mobile was taken by the accused to delete evidence.

“Attempts were made to give the incident another angle, even though the aim of taking the mobile was to wipe out the clues.”

What did her family say?

As per the FIR registered by Yousaf's mother, the man entered their home suddenly with a pistol around 5 pm on June 2 and fired point blank at the influencer.

Two bullets struck Sana in her chest, severely injuring her. She was rushed to a hospital, but died, Dawn reported.

Who was Sana Yousaf?

Having a large fan base on the internet, Yousaf hailed from Upper Chitral in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She used to make content for TikTok and Instagram.

She was living in Islamabad's Sector G-13. Born on June 2, 2008, Sana was the daughter of a well-known social activist.

She had around 4,92,000 followers on Instagram and a separate account for brand collaborations. Yousaf used to make videos on culture and lifestyle, which incorporated humour at times, were mainly focused on the youth population on the platforms.