Pakistan teen fatally shot by father in alleged row over TikTok account

A 16-year-old girl in Pakistan was allegedly shot dead by her father near Rawalpindi after reportedly refusing to delete a TikTok account -- motive police are still working to confirm as the victim’s mobile phone remains missing.

The incident occurred in a rural village near Rawat, on the outskirts of Rawalpindi in northern Pakistan. According to a First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Rawat Police Station, the father, Ikhlaq Ahmed, demanded that his daughter, Mehak Shehzadi, remove her TikTok profile. When she allegedly refused, he shot her and fled the scene. He was arrested the following day.

However, key questions remain unanswered. Police have yet to recover Mehak’s phone or confirm the existence of the alleged TikTok account.

Investigators say this missing digital evidence is critical to verifying the motive behind the killing. The initial claim made by some family members that Mehak had taken her own life was ruled out after early forensic and investigative findings confirmed the case as homicide.

City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani assured that crimes against women and children “will not be tolerated” and vowed that the suspect would be prosecuted with strong evidence.

Meanwhile, some relatives and local residents have disputed the honor killing narrative. Speaking to Nukta, they claimed the shooting may have been accidental, suggesting that Mehak was studying in her room when a pistol owned by her father discharged unintentionally.

Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing, and the recovery of the victim’s phone could prove central to determining the truth behind the fatal shooting.

Pakistan continues to face international criticism over so-called “honor killings,” where women and girls are murdered by family members over behavior perceived as violating social or cultural norms. TikTok, one of the most popular platforms among Pakistani youth, has repeatedly come under scrutiny in such moral debates.