TikTok Star Poses With Forest On Fire In The Background, Faces Heat Of Social Media

A Pakistani social media star, Humaira Asghar, is facing criticism after she posed by a forest on fire for her TikTok video. In the video posted on the popular video-sharing application, Asghar is seen walking beside burning hillside in a silver ball gown. She captioned the post: "Fire erupts wherever I am."

"Set fire for 15 second video"

However, the clip was posted on Twitter by @PakistanNature with a plea to the Pakistani government to punish such TikTokers and brands who pull off stunts by disregarding a grave environmental issue.

Watch the entire clip here:

This tiktoker from Pakistan has set fire to the forest for 15 sec video.

Government should make sure that culprits are punished and the tiktoker along with the brand should be penalised. #Pakistan #TikTok pic.twitter.com/76ad77ULdJ

¡ª Discover Pakistan ?? | ??????? (@PakistanNature) May 17, 2022

The tweet reads: ¡°This tiktoker from Pakistan has set fire to the forest for 15 sec video. Government should make sure that culprits are punished and the tiktoker along with the brand should be penalised.¡±

It comes after police arrested a man earlier this month in the northwestern city of Abbottabad for intentionally starting a forest fire as a background for a video.

Faces ire on the internet

One of the social media users wrote, ¡°This is a criminal behavior!!¡±.

This is a criminal behavior!! ?#Pakistan #TikTok

¡ª Abu_Noorudeen (@abu_noorudeen) May 17, 2022

One comment under the video read, ¡°One can at least block her on social media platforms, if the authorities don¡¯t do anything¡± with several other users demanding her to be banned and asking for punishment.

One can at-least block her on social media platforms, if the authorities don¡¯t do anything.

¡ª Dr Wisal M Khan (@WisalDr) May 17, 2022

Another comment under Asghar's video said, "For things like these...we should have had the dislike button on Twitter!"

For things like these...we should have had the dislike button on Twitter!#TicTok #wtf #dumbtrendsdestoyingnature

¡ª Pri (@Crabyleo) May 18, 2022

"No harm in making videos"

After receiving backlash, Humaira who has over 11 million followers said in a statement released by her team that she did not start the fire and there was ¡°no harm in making videos¡±. The video has since been taken down.

¡°She should have been holding a bucket of water to extinguish the fire instead of glamorising it,¡± said Rina Saeed Khan Satti, an environmental activist and chairperson of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board.

"The message these videos is sending is too risky and it needs to be contained," Satti said.

tiktoker dolly

Pakistan and its vulnerability to climate change

Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index compiled by NGO Germanwatch.

But experts say there is a lack of awareness among the population about environmental issues.

Forest fires are common from mid-April through to the end of July, caused by searing temperatures and lightning as well as slash-and-burn farming.

TikTok is widely used by young people in Pakistan and videos often garner hundreds of thousands of likes.

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