A tragedy befell a Pakistani family who had lived in the United States for 25 years before migrating back to their homeland, Pakistan. The father, displeased with his teenage daughter's TikTok videos, shot and killed her. This is an example of an honor killing, which still occurs in Pakistan and some other countries.
On the 31st, the British BBC reported, "Police revealed that a man who recently returned to Pakistan from the United States with his family confessed to killing his teenage daughter over dissatisfaction with her TikTok videos." The man, Anwar Ul-Haq, admitted to shooting his daughter Hira in Quetta, a city in southwestern Pakistan, and was charged with murder. After the incident, he claimed to the police that unidentified men were behind the shooting.
The father, who held U.S. citizenship, reportedly said he found his daughter's posts "offensive." Pakistani police stated they are investigating all possibilities, including the likelihood of an honor killing. Hira, known to be in her early teens, had posted videos on TikTok related to her clothing, lifestyle, and social gatherings, which her family opposed. The family had lived in the United States for 25 years, and Hira had been posting videos on TikTok even before they returned to Pakistan. Police also reported that Hira's maternal uncle was arrested on murder charges.
In Pakistan, following a 2016 legal amendment, those convicted of honor killings face a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. Previously, there was an exception allowing the victim's family to forgive the perpetrator, resulting in no punishment. Despite the legal changes, honor killings have continued, and perpetrators have not been properly prosecuted. BBC cited human rights organizations reporting that hundreds of people (mostly women) die annually in Pakistan due to so-called honor killings.
Earlier, an Italian court sentenced a Pakistani couple to life imprisonment in 2023 for killing their 18-year-old daughter who refused an arranged marriage. In 2016, the brother of Pakistani female social media star Chandil Baloch (then 26), who advocated for gender equality and nonconformity, strangled her while she was sleeping. Although the authorities sentenced the brother to life imprisonment in 2019, he was acquitted after their parents petitioned for clemency.
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