ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi have arrested the father of a 28-year-old Pakistani TikTok star, who was killed in a drive-by shooting this month, and other relatives for their alleged involvement in her murder, an official said on Saturday.
Shamsoo Bibi, also known as Ayesha Gilamana, was killed in Taxila on Aug. 14 while she was traveling in a car along with her sister and brother, according to a police complaint lodged by her father Fazal Sahibzada.
Sahibzada said Bibi received a call on her phone by a man he identified as Kashif alias “Kashi,” and left home with her 15-year-old sister Aseema and brother Naimatullah. Shortly afterwards, Sahibzada said he got to know Bibi had been shot dead while his other daughter had been injured.
Speaking at a press conference, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Malik Tariq Mehboob said they had arrested five suspects, including Bibi’s father and brother as well as the two suspected shooters, in connection with the murder.
“Father has a role in it, then there is his brother, then his cousin, his paternal cousin, Ehsanullah, and then another cousin. These cousins and family members were involved [in the murder],” the official said, adding that investigators expanded the scope of the probe based on technical evidence.
The victim’s father and her brother were taken into custody and questioned, who allegedly confessed to orchestrating the murder with the assistance of other suspects, according to police.
The suspects allegedly attempted to create a false narrative and mislead investigators but CCTV footage, technical evidence and intelligence inputs eventually exposed inconsistencies in their account.
“The investigation is still ongoing. The roles of the other individuals still have to be determined,” Malik said.
Violence against women remains widespread in Pakistan.
Also in Rawalpindi on Saturday, police said they had taken two people into custody for questioning over the death of a 45-year-old woman, Hina Javed, who was found with her hands bound and a wire around her neck in a suspected domestic violence case police are investigating as murder.
