daniel chigunwe
ISLAMABAD. − A man who recently moved his family back to Pakistan from the United States has confessed to killing his teenage daughter because he disapproved of her TikTok videos, police have told the BBC.
The 15-year-old girl was shot dead by her father and maternal uncle over TikTok videos in an honour killing in Pakistan’s Quetta.
Anwarul-Haq, the father of the 15-year-old Hira, was enraged over his daughter’s social media presence on TikTok and had asked her to stop making videos.
However, after her daughter refused to follow his order, he hatched a plan with the girl’s maternal uncle to kill his daughter.
On January 15, Anwarul-Haq, returned home after living in the United States for 25 years.
His wife and two other daughters remained in the United States.
The police confirmed that the murder was premeditated, as Anwarul-Haq hatched the plot with Tayyab Ali.
Both accused have been arrested and they have confessed to the killing, according to ARY News.
According to a police investigator, the girl’s family objected to her dresses and lifestyle.
“Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle, and social gathering,” police investigator, Zohaib Mohsin, told Reuters
“We have her phone. It is locked. We are probing all aspects, including honour killing.”
More than 54 million people use TikTok in Pakistan.
The government has blocked the video-sharing app several times in recent years over content moderation.
Islamabad often takes issue with what it terms “obscene content” with the social media platform, which has lately started complying with requests from Pakistan to remove certain content.
Hundreds of people − most of them women − die in so-called honour killings in Pakistan each year, according to human rights groups.
These killings are usually carried out by relatives who say they are acting in defence of their family’s honour. − BBC/Hindustan Times/Reuters
