Court Rules Murder of Yonkers Teen Was Premeditated

A Pakistani court sentenced a U.S. citizen and his brother-in-law to life imprisonment for the murder of a 14-year-old girl. The victim, Hira Anwar, was a New York teenager known for her TikTok videos.

The court determined that her death was premeditated. Hira, an eighth-grade student from Yonkers, N.Y., traveled to Pakistan where she was killed outside her family home in Quetta, Balochistan in January 2025.

Her father, Anwar-ul-Haq, a naturalized U.S. citizen and longtime Uber driver in New York, initially reported that unknown gunmen were responsible for her death. However, a police investigation found he had set a trap for her. Using the alias Anwar-ul-Haq Rajpoot, he collaborated with his brother-in-law and was convicted on charges of murder.

Hira attended Public School 16 in Yonkers, where she was known for her vibrant personality and TikTok videos. She frequently featured artists like Zayn Malik and the band Chase Atlantic. Teachers described her as eager for independence and self-expression.

The court found evidence that Mr. ul-Haq was troubled by Hira’s choices in clothing, her friendships, and her social media activity. He viewed her interactions with boys as a source of shame and deemed them inappropriate. This concern led to a plot involving family members in Pakistan. Hira was lured there under the guise of a family trip.