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| TikTok, a popular video-sharing social media platform | Photo: Reuters |
A Pakistani-American father has confessed to killing his teenage daughter over her TikTok videos, police confirmed. The tragic incident took place in Quetta, where the father, Anwar ul-Haq, shot and killed 13- or 14-year-old Hira Anwar last Tuesday.
Authorities revealed that Anwar ul-Haq, who holds US citizenship along with his daughter, initially claimed that unidentified assailants were responsible for Hira’s murder.
However, he later admitted to the crime, stating that he found his daughter’s social media posts ‘objectionable.’
The police are investigating whether this was a case of honor killing, a deeply rooted issue in Pakistan where relatives, particularly male family members, kill women to uphold family honor. Human rights organizations estimate that hundreds of such cases occur in Pakistan each year, with most victims being women.
According to a police spokesperson, the family objected to Hira’s dress, lifestyle, and social interactions. Having lived in the United States for 25 years, they had only recently returned to Pakistan.
Investigators seized Hira’s locked mobile phone as part of the inquiry.
Police also arrested Hira’s father-in-law in connection with the murder. Under Pakistan’s revised 2016 law on honor killings, a guilty verdict would result in a mandatory life sentence, closing the previous legal loophole that allowed families to forgive the perpetrators and evade punishment.
The case has sparked outrage and renewed calls for stronger protections for women’s rights in Pakistan.