According to authorities, a gentleman who recently relocated his family from the US to Pakistan confessed to killing his young daughter because he was against her TikTok videos.
Anwar ul-Haq, who admitted shooting his girl Hira on Tuesday in Quetta’s south-western area, was charged with murder. Initial reports suggested that a group of unidentified people were responsible for the killing.
The parents, who has US citizen, said he found his mother’s content “objectionable”.
Authorities claimed they were taking into account all possible options, including the possibility of an honor shooting, which is not uncommon in this area.
Human rights organizations claim that hundreds of people die in Pakistan each year in so-called majesty deaths, the majority of them women. These deaths are typically committed by family who claim to be protecting their loved ones ‘ reputation.
In the case of Hira Anwar, who is between 13 and 14 years old, a police spokesman said her community “had an objection to her washing, lifestyle and interpersonal gathering”.
Before her family moved back to Pakistan, Hira started posting articles on TikTok while the family had spent 25 years living there.
Authorities said they were in custody on her smartphone, which is locked.
Her husband’s brother-in-law was likewise arrested in connection with the shooting, authorities said.
If it is found to be an honour killing and they are found guilty, the men will face a mandatory life sentence – a change made to the law by Pakistan’s government in 2016. Previously, they could avoid a jail term if pardoned by the victim’s family.
In 2023, an Italian court handed a Pakistani couple life sentences for killing their 18-year-old daughter because she refused an arranged marriage.
The nephew of Bangladeshi social media star Qandeel Baloch was found innocent of murdering her on appeal the year before. He had previously been given a life sentence for the 2016 shooting, claiming that the sun had put shame on the family.