Claim: A video claims to show social media influencer Sana Yousaf’s brother mourning at her grave.
Fact: The video predates Yousaf’s killing. It was originally shared with a caption about an individual named Ali Zain Bukhari. Moreover, the man in the video seems older than Yousaf’s 15 year-old brother.
A video circulating on social media shows a man mourning at a grave, with an image of Sana Yousaf overlaid on the footage. The text in the video claims that the video shows Yousaf’s brother at her grave, and reads: “ثنا یوسف کا بھائی بہت پریشان ہے، اللہ اسے صبر عطا فرمائے، سب دعا کریں”
[Translation: Sana Yousaf’s brother is deeply distressed. May Allah grant him patience. Everyone, please pray for him.]
Who is Sana Yousaf?
Sana Yousaf was a 17 year-old social media influencer from Chitral, known for her popular TikTok and Instagram accounts where she had amassed a wide following. On 2 June 2025, Yousaf was shot twice in the chest inside her home in Islamabad, according to the police. She succumbed to her injuries before she could be taken to the hospital. The attacker entered the house and shot Yousaf dead around 5 pm, according to the first information report (FIR) filed by her mother.
The deceased’s father, Syed Yousaf Hassan, told the BBC she was his only daughter, and was “very brave.” He added that she had never mentioned Hayat, nor any threatening behaviour, before she was killed.
Yousaf’s family gathered in Chitral where she was buried, according to the BBC’s report from 4 June.
Islamabad’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, described the incident as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” emphasising that the suspect, Umar Hayat, had persistently attempted to contact Yousaf and was rejected multiple times. Rizvi stated, “It was a case of repeated rejections. The boy was trying to reach out to her time and again”. He further noted that Hayat had loitered outside Yousaf’s residence for hours before the attack.
Islamabad police swiftly arrested the 22 year-old suspect, who took Yousaf’s phone in an attempt to “destroy evidence”, according to Islamabad’s IGP. However, the police recovered the weapon and the device, and said Hayat had confessed to the crime.
Human rights activists have condemned the murder as an act of deep-rooted misogyny and patriarchal violence in Pakistani society. Dr Farzana Bari, a prominent human rights activist, stated, “Every day, women are killed simply for being women. Every third woman in this country faces gender-based violence. When will it end?”.
Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, First Lady and Member of the National Assembly, also condemned the killing, urging that such incidents should not silence girls or discourage them from pursuing their dreams. She emphasised the need for societal change to protect and empower women.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral video and found that the clip had been shared online as early as 11 May 2025, predating Yousaf’s killing on 2 June. It was captioned: “Ali Zain Bukhari ka intiqal” (Ali Zain Bukhari’s death). The video also featured the following text:
“علی زین بخاری کا انتقال ہو گیا ہے اور اس کا بھائی بہت پریشان ہے، سب دعا کریں، مرنا تو ایک دن سب نے ہے”
[Translation: Ali Zain Bukhari has passed away, and his brother is deeply distressed. Please pray for him. Everyone has to die one day.]
We searched for news reports about the death of Ali Zain Bukhari but did not find any coverage from credible news sources, suggesting that the death in question was not publicly reported. Soch Fact Check could not verify the original context of the video.
However, the video was posted in May, well before Sana Yousaf was killed. Therefore, it is clearly unrelated to Yousaf or her family.
Soch Fact Check also reviewed Sana Yousaf’s father’s conversation with anchor Shazia Zeeshan on 92 News in which he confirmed that besides Sana, he has a 15 year-old son. We then analysed recent content on Sana Yousaf’s social media accounts to confirm her brother’s appearance. In the few videos where he is visible, he appears to be a much younger boy, unlike the seemingly older man in the viral footage.
Virality
The claim garnered significant traction on Facebook receiving over 60,000 likes and 1,000 shares. It was shared here (archive) and here (archive).
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive).
It was also shared here (archive) on TikTok.
Conclusion: The viral video has been falsely linked to Sana Yousaf’s brother. It predates her killing and features a different person altogether.
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Background image in cover photo: Geo News
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