LAHORE: A fact-finding mission led by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) to investigate an attack on four transgender persons in Peshawar on 11 September 2022 has concluded that the attack was a result of a personal dispute—one of the victims had refused to allow the accused to conduct a physical relationship with a junior member of her team.
On 11 September 2022, four transgender persons and a man were seriously injured when the accused opened fire on their vehicle. They were returning from a wedding, at which they had been slated to perform. HRCP felt it was necessary to investigate the incident, given the context of violence against transgender persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
It is the responsibility of the police to arrest the accused as soon as possible and take action according to the law. However, noting the prejudiced attitude of the Peshawar police to the trans community in general, HRCP recommends immediate and effective gender sensitivity training for the police. In addition, any police officers guilty of extorting money from transgender persons should be penalised for doing so.
HRCP also recommends that the KP provincial cabinet pass legislation to address transgender persons’ welfare as soon as possible, especially given the malicious disinformation campaign being led by religious political parties against the federal Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018. Additionally, the KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission should start registering transgender persons below 18 years of age.
