A 28-year-old Pakistani TikToker with over 1.3 million followers was shot useless within the metropolis of Taxila, round 33 km from the capital Islamabad, on August 14, the nation’s Independence Day, whereas she was in a automotive along with her siblings. This marks the newest in a collection of killings focusing on ladies in Pakistan who had constructed massive audiences on social media.
Shamso Bibi, higher referred to as Ayesha Gilamana, was travelling in a automotive along with her minor sister and brother when two unidentified males on a motorbike opened fireplace on her, in line with reviews in UK-based digital publication The Impartial and the Saudi Arabia-based outlet, Arab Information. A bullet struck Bibi on her neck, killing her on the spot, in line with a police grievance filed by her father, Fazal Shahibzada.
The taking pictures additionally precipitated the automotive to veer uncontrolled and crash into one other car, severely injuring Bibi’s 15-year-old sister, Aseema.
In response to a police grievance filed by Shamso Bibi’s father, Fazal Sahibzada, Bibi obtained a name from a person recognized as Kashif alias “Kashi”, who requested her to return exterior her house, Arab Information reported.
Bibi then left the home along with her 15-year-old sister Aseema and brother Naimatullah of their automotive. Naimatullah informed his father that two unidentified males, believed to be aged 30–35, approached the automotive on a motorbike and opened fireplace, killing Bibi and inflicting their automotive to crash.
A purported surveillance video circulating on-line seems to point out two males on a motorbike intercepting a automotive and firing at it from shut vary, The Impartial reported.
Sahibzada stated he later went to THQ Hospital Taxila, the place he recognized his daughter’s physique.
SHAMSO BIBI’S FAMILY ALLEGES FINANCIAL DISPUTE BEHIND KILLING
Bibi’s household has alleged that the killing was linked to a monetary dispute, though the motive has not been established.
Her father, Fazal Sahibzada, informed police that Bibi had monetary dealings with Kausar and Javed alias Shaheen, and had obtained threats over calls for for compensation. He alleged that the 2 could have organized the killing, with Kashif allegedly concerned in instigating the assault.
“I’ve sturdy motive to imagine that my daughter was murdered both by Kausar and Javed (alias Shaheen) themselves or by way of these unidentified individuals in order that they might misappropriate her cash, by which this particular person, Kashif alias Kashi’s instigation can also be concerned,” he was quoted as saying by Arab Information.
Bibi’s brother Rehmatullah informed Arab Information that the household had deactivated her TikTok account following her demise, telling the outlet that, “It had over 30–35 million likes and over a million followers.”
Rehmatullah additionally informed Arab Information that Bibi had obtained demise threats from Kausar and Javed over calls for for compensation and had filed a grievance in opposition to them in Islamabad.
Niamatullah, who was within the automotive by which Shamso Bibi was killed, later informed the information outlet, Voicepk, that police have did not make any arrests following his sister’s deadly taking pictures in Taxila and pressed for speedy intervention from the Punjab province’s Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif to make sure justice.
RISE IN WOMEN INFLUENCERS TARGETED IN PAKISTAN
TikTok is especially well-liked in Pakistan. In response to DataReportal’s Digital 2026: Pakistan report, citing knowledge from TikTok’s promoting assets, the platform had 79.9 million customers aged 18 and above within the nation as of late 2025.
For ladies, the platform presents alternatives to earn cash and construct public audiences in a rustic the place fewer than 25% take part within the formal workforce. But, a rising variety of ladies with outstanding social-media profiles have confronted violence and harassment.
In March 2026, TikTok creator Sana Javed, additionally recognized on-line as OutLofara, was shot useless in Islamabad. The Karachi-based each day, Daybreak, reported that she was allegedly killed by her estranged husband, who later died by suicide.
In Could 2026, a Pakistani courtroom sentenced a 23-year-old man to demise for the homicide of 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf, who was shot dead at her Islamabad home in June 2025 after repeatedly rejecting his advances, the BBC reported.
In July 2025, 16-year-old TikTok creator Mehak Shehzadi was shot useless in Rawalpindi. Daybreak reported that police have been investigating the case as a suspected honour killing, with investigators alleging that her father objected to her use of TikTok and had raised considerations concerning the household’s honour.
Additionally in July final yr, TikTok creator Sumeera Rajput was discovered useless underneath suspicious circumstances at her house in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The Pakistani outlet, GeoNews had reported that she may have been poisoned by people who have been allegedly pressuring her right into a pressured marriage.
The violence has additionally prolonged past killings. In August 2025, content material creator Ayesha Akram was assaulted by a mob whereas filming at Lahore’s Higher Iqbal Park on Independence Day. ABC Information reported in September that the incident was a part of a broader sample of violence in opposition to feminine influencers, saying at the least eight feminine influencers had been murdered in Pakistan over the previous yr.
Shamso Bibi’s household has claimed that she was murdered over a monetary dispute, somewhat than due to her social-media actions. Nevertheless, her killing comes amid a rising variety of instances of violence focusing on ladies in Pakistan who’ve constructed massive followings on-line.
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