PHC issues notices to Bureau of Statistics, Human Rights ministry

Transgender column and census

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued a notice to director general of the Bureau of Statistic and Ministry of Human Rights to submit a reply within 15 days in a writ petition seeking inclusion of transgender column in the census form.  A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Lal Jan Khattak issued the notice to the director general of the Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan, provincial director of the Bureau of Statistics as National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had already filed comments in the case.

The court issued the notice in a writ petition filed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa transgender community. The petition termed it a violation of the Supreme Court decision and denial of their fundamental rights safeguarded by Constitution. Farzana, president of TransAction Alliance, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, vice-president Paro and nine others had filed the writ petition through their lawyers Hashim Raza and Gul Rehman Mohmand.

The counsels for the transgender community submitted that the petitioners were citizens of Pakistan and inhabitants of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and were thus entitled to all fundamental rights safeguarded under the Constitution.

They said the federal government was going to conduct census in March this year and the transgender community column was not included in the census form, which is against the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed by the Constitution. The petitioners prayed the high court to direct the respondents to amend the census form by adding a new column for the transgender community. They prayed the court to issue the Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to the transgender community, their status as male/female transgender or intersex (in between them). The high court was requested to direct the respondents to reserve quota in jobs as per policy of the KP government for the entire Pakistan. It was prayed the census form had no column for transgender community and if census was carried out without amending the form, the transgender will be deprived of their fundamental right and this would be against the Supreme Court decision.

They called for suspension of the census till the amendment made to the census form and adding a new column to it.The transgender community claimed in the petition that after attaining the age of 18 years they were not issued the CNICs by Nadra as their parents were unwilling to give them their recognition. Due to non-availability of their family tree, they are not issued CNICs by the Nadra, which is a question mark on the rights safeguarded under the Constitution.