Three transgender people tortured in Peshawar

SSP Operations said locals complained attackers were inebriated

PESHAWAR: Three people who are transgender were illegally arrested and reportedly tortured by the police for not paying Rs1,000 to the police personnel who intercepted them on Thursday night.

They were arrested from Bara Gata area in the city and taken to Pishtakhara police station where they were beaten before Trans Action Alliance President Farzana reached there.



As per the complaint, they were dragged on the road – they were wounded and bruised all over their bodies after they were tortured at the police station.

“When I called the police station, the three of them were there, but a few minutes before I reached there the police had let them leave,” Farzana told The Express Tribune on Friday. She added the Pishtakhara SHO arrested them without registering an FIR for any illegal activity.

“I asked the police if they had registered an FIR why did they allow them to leave, but the police had no answer to my question.”

Farzana said those who were tortured were not voicing their grievances because they were getting threatening phone calls.

Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network Coordinator Taimur Kamal said such cases were on the rise in the province.

“We have submitted more than 10 applications to the IGP complaint cell and have even tried to reach the IGP to at least take strict notice about this serious issue, but we haven’t got any response from him,” he said.

When contacted, SSP Operations Abbas Majeed Marwat said the residents of Bara Gate area had called the police because they found the people who are transgender drunk. He added since one of them was an Afghan national, the police charged her under section 14 of the foreigners act.



“I took notice [of the incident] and sent Hayatabad ASP to solve the problem – the issue was resolved later.”

Marwat said directions have been issued to the police to respect the transgender community and proper assistance should be provided to them in case of any emergency.

Use of funds

On Friday a meeting was held between people from the transgender community and the social welfare department, regarding the proper utilisation of the Rs200 million allocated by the K-P government for the transgender community.

The meeting was attended by Farzana and other people from the transgender community.

On the occasion, people who are transgender asked the government to make a separate colony for them. They also demanded to be registered with National Database and Registration Authority so they could become part of the census.

Farzana said they were satisfied with what the provincial government was doing for their betterment.

Social Welfare Director Mohammad Naeem said a survey has been started to find out the problems the transgender community was facing.

He added a few people would pretend to belong to the transgender community – they need to be separated from the actual people who were in need of funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2016.