ISLAMABAD: In a key development in the TikToker Sana Yousaf murder case, an Islamabad sessions court has fixed September 20 as the date for indicting the accused Umar Hayat.
The court on Saturday also handed over copies of the challan to the suspect.
The hearing was conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka.
The accused Umar Hayat, 22, is facing charges in a murder case registered at Sumbal police station in Islamabad, where he has been named as the prime suspect.
Umar Hayat, son of a former public servant from the town of Faisalabad, was arrested after confessing to breaking into Sana Yousaf’s home and fatally shooting her.
It is worth mentioning that 17 year old Sana Yousaf, an active TikToker, was allegedly murdered earlier this year after rejecting a marriage proposal from Umar.
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Police arrested the accused and produced him in court after completing the challan. Now, with the court setting the date, the case has reached the indictment stage.
At the next hearing, the accused will be formally indicted, after which the trial proceedings will begin.
Before her death, Sana Yousaf had already built a strong fan base in Pakistan, with nearly half a million followers on Instagram. After the tragic news, condolences poured in on her social media pages.
Her TikTok following also surged, crossing the one-million mark overnight.
In her final Instagram post, uploaded just a week earlier, she appeared surrounded by balloons while cutting a birthday cake.
Given her prominence, the news of her killing spread rapidly across local media and online platforms. The incident has also sparked an intense debate over the challenges faced by women on social media.
While many expressed anger and grief, others directed criticism at her work as an influencer.