A 15-year-old girl was shot dead by her father and maternal uncle in an alleged honour killing in Pakistan’s Quetta, after she refused to stop making TikTok videos. The victim, identified as Hira, had been active on the social media platform, which enraged her father, Anwarul-Haq.

After she refused to comply with his demand to stop creating content, he conspired with her maternal uncle, Tayyab Ali, to kill her, according to police. “Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle, and social gathering,” another police investigator, Zohaib Mohsin, said. “We have her phone. It is locked,” he told Reuters. “We are probing all aspects, including honour killing.”

According to the authorities, Anwarul-Haq had moved to the United States with his wife and children several years ago. However, on January 15, he returned to Pakistan with Hira, while his wife and two other daughters remained in the US Police confirmed that the murder was premeditated, with both men confessing to the crime.

The case has now been transferred to the serious crime investigation wing for further inquiry.

Meanwhile, TikTok remains unavailable on Apple and Google app stores in the United States. US President Donald Trump has expressed support for approving the app, provided that the US owns 50% of it.  “We need to save TikTok because we have to save a lot of jobs. We don’t want to give our business to China… I agreed to approve TikTok on the condition that the USA will own 50 per cent of TikTok,” Trump said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also weighed in on the debate, opposing a TikTok ban while specifying what he called an imbalance in global platform regulations.  “I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech. That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something needs to change,” Musk posted on X.

On April 19, Musk reiterated his stance, saying, “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”