TikTok quarrel turns tragic: Pakistani teen shoots sister sparking religious decree
According to Pakistani news channel ARY News, a 14-year-old girl gunned down her sister. The heartbreaking event took place in the city of Sarai Alamgir, located in the Gujarat district of Punjab.
11:56 AM EST, January 2, 2024
The sisters, known as Saba and Maria Afzal, got into an argument while recording a TikTok video. Amid the intense disagreement, 14-year-old Saba shot her sister. The incident was reported to the police by the teenager's brother, ARY News has reported.
This isn't the first deadly incident recorded in Pakistan indirectly triggered by filming a video for the popular platform. Earlier in December, three individuals lost their lives nearby the Sheikhupura district in the Lahore district. The young trio were filming a TikTok video while riding a motorcycle. Due to their lack of attention, the motorbike crashed directly into an incoming car, as per ARY News reports.
As per a citation in the Pakistani media, NDTV World reported that on December 24, Jamia Binoria, a distinguished religious institute in Karachi, Pakistan, released a fatwa (religious decree) in which using TikTok was declared illegal. They defined it as "haram" (an Islamic term for everything that is forbidden) under Sharia law. The decree underscored that social media represents the greatest temptation of the modern world.