The Additional Sessions Court declared death penalty for Sana Yousuf’s murderer; Umer Hayat. The suspect was caught within 24 hours of the incident in Faislabad, but the verdict was yet to be delcared. The killer did not deserve any compassion, the court said, because the prosecution had presented “overwhelming evidence” against him.
Details of the event:
The incident occured when the social media influencer refused to meet the convict and was shot and killed inside her home in Sector G-13/1 in June 2025. Umer Hayat, son of Amjad Javed, a resident of Jaranwala, Faisalabad, was found guilty of murder, robbery, trespass, and possession of stolen property by Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka. Hayat was himself a tiktoker and enjoyed significant following on the platform.
Hayat brought a 30-bore handgun inside the house at around 5:00 p.m. He went straight to Sana’s room and shot her twice in the chest. He took the victim’s cell phone after the gunshot and ran away.
On Tuesday, the victim’s remains waere buried in her ancestral cemetery in the Upper Chitral town of Chuinj. Villagers and family members wept over the girl’s untimely death, creating heartwarming images during the burial.
Investigation Officer
At first, no suspect was named in the FIR that was filed at the Sumbul Police Station. After recovering the victim’s cell phone from her room during a spot check, Investigating Officer (IO) Fakhar Abbas started to piece together the identity of the accused.
The IO discovered a contact saved as “Kaka” when inspecting the phone. It was discovered that the number’s owner had travelled to Islamabad in an effort to see Sana, who had not been answering his messages. The phone was registered in Hayat’s name and was located in Sector G-14 at 9:30 p.m. on the day of the murder, according to location data. This helped the Investigation Officer catch the suspect within 20 hours.
Final Verdict
According to the final verdict, the murderer was also fined Rs.2,000,000 and sentenced with 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Isolated incident or a bigger trend?
While Sana Yousaf’s killer has met his fate, this is not an isolated story. Noor Mukaddam, was also brutally killed by Zahir Jaffer, when she refused to marry him. While Zahir Jaffer was also sentenced to death, he hasn’t been prosecuted as of yet. The incident raises questions about the reliability of legislative decisions which might fail to be realized. In addition, this also reveals a deeper pattern within Pakistani society of men refusing to take no for an answer.
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