QUETTA: A court in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province sentenced a father and his brother-in-law to life imprisonment for the murder of a 14-year-old US-born girl whose killing was linked by investigators to her social media activity, according to a judgment obtained by Arab News on Saturday.
The June 18 verdict by Additional Sessions Judge Shahid Javed convicted Anwar-ul-Haq and Muhammad Tayab under Sections 302(b) and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code in the killing of Hira Anwar, who was shot dead outside her family’s residence in Quetta in January 2025.
The case attracted widespread attention in Pakistan and abroad after police alleged that Hira was killed over objections to her TikTok activity and lifestyle following the family’s return from the United States.
“Both accused persons, namely Muhammad Tayab son of Muhammad Bashir ... and Anwar-ul-Haq son of Manzoor Ahmed ..., are hereby convicted under Section 302(b) and 34 P.P.C. ... and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life,” the judgment said.
The court also ordered both convicts to pay Rs200,000 ($719) each in compensation to Hira’s legal heirs.
According to the judgment, Hira was shot dead on Jan. 27, 2025, outside the family’s residence in Quetta’s Balochi Street. Police initially said her father reported that unidentified gunmen had carried out the attack, but investigators later accused him of ordering the killing and alleged that he enlisted his brother-in-law to carry it out.
The court found that prosecutors had established the defendants’ guilt through “consistent, confidence-inspiring, circumstantial and forensic evidence.”
However, the judgment also said the prosecution had failed to independently establish its allegation that the killing was motivated by Hira’s social media activities and personal lifestyle through documentary, electronic or forensic evidence.
The court cited the absence of a proven motive, the circumstantial nature of the case and the lack of direct eyewitness testimony among the mitigating factors that warranted life imprisonment rather than the death penalty.
Naveed Qumbrani, a lawyer representing both defendants, said his clients intended to challenge the verdict in a higher court.
“We believe that the investigation in this case was conducted contrary to the law,” Qumbrani told Arab News.
He alleged that the prosecution had failed to prove its case and claimed that evidence, including the weapon presented in court, had been tampered with.
