ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has rejected a request to transfer the trial of TikToker Sana Yousuf’s murder to another court.

The court of Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, while issuing a reserved verdict on the petition of accused Umar Hayat, ordered trial court judge Afzal Majuka to continue the trial.

Accused Umar Hayat had filed a request to transfer the case ongoing in the Sessions Court to another court.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Yousuf’s mother stated that a man with a pistol in his hand had entered their house suddenly at around 5pm and “shot straight at my daughter with the intention to kill.”

As per Police, the suspect, a 22-year-old man, from Faisalabad had tried to contact Yousuf repeatedly and was being “rejected by her again and again,” adding that the accused had taken Yousuf’s mobile phone in a bid to wipe out the evidence but it had been recovered along with the weapon of offence.

On July 25, police had formally submitted the challan against Hayat to the prosecution branch of the district and sessions courts. It also included Hayat’s confessional statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

In his statement, Hayat, son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself, said he had developed a one-sided infatuation with Sana after connecting with her through social media. He confessed that suspicion and jealousy drove him to kill her.

Hayat revealed that he had traveled from Jaranwala to Islamabad on May 28 to wish Sana on her birthday. When she did not meet him, he became convinced she was deliberately avoiding him. He added that on June 2, he returned to the capital after renting a Toyota Fortuner and carrying a 30-bore pistol, intending to confront her.

The high court’s rejection of the transfer petition means the trial will proceed before Judge Afzal Majuka as originally scheduled.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026