Rights activists say 60 transvestites killed in KP from 2015 to 17

PESHAWAR: The year 2018 proved the worst for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa transgender community as six of them were killed and eight gang-raped, according to the police records.

In Peshawar, Nazo was killed allegedly by her boyfriend, Sadaqat. The Pishtakhara Police Station personnel said that a police patrol van arrested one Muhammad Farooq for carrying a bag containing human organs. During interrogation, Farooq told the police that his friend Sadaqat had allegedly killed Nazo in his flat and later chopped up her body using an axe. The organs were then stuffed into a bag for burial. Based on the information provided by Farooq, the police arrested Sadaqat and recovered the remaining body parts, the axe and a pistol with bullets.

Sadaqat told the police that he had spent a lot of money on Nazo but a contention arose when Nazo refused to continue her relationship with him. A 25-year-old transgender, Alisha, succumbed to her injuries after she was shot eight times by a disgruntled man in the jurisdiction of Faqirabad Police Station. Another transgender named Khanullah, alias Sheena, was shot dead after being beaten up in Kalu Khan area of the Swabi district. A group of armed men raided Sheena’s house at midnight, beat her up and then shot her dead. Another transgender, Khurram was killed when she was dancing at a wedding in Mansehra. Police said Riaz allegedly Munni over a petty issue at a function and fled. Kismat Khan, another transgender, who was also performing along with Munni, told reporters accused first fired two bullets into the air.Similarly, another transgender named Danial, alias Chutki, and her friend were shot dead by unidentified people while they were travelling in an auto rickshaw on the Ring Road in Peshawar. Farzana Jan, provincial president of TransAction Association, told The News that eight gang-rape cases of transgender people also occurred in 2018 in KP. She said videos of three gang-raped transgender people went viral on social media and police arrested some accused in the rape cases due to their protests. Farzana Jan added that more than 100 cases of violence against transgender people were reported from KP alone. Qamar Naseem of Blue Veins, who works for transgender rights, said that from 2015 to 2017, a total of 1,131 cases of violence against transgender people were reported in KP, out of which 60 people were killed.

Out of those targeted, 42 transgender persons were killed by own boyfriends/intimate partners and four were killed in the name of honour by their family in Buner and Mardan districts.