Three transgenders critically injured in Swabi firing incident

Injured have been moved to Mardan for medical assistance

PESHAWAR: At least three transgender persons were critically injured in a firing incident that took place in Swabi late Sunday night. It remains unclear if the attack was random or targeted.

An FIR, however, has been lodged at Yar Hussain Police Station to further investigate the incident. The transgender persons, including Wafa and Salam, have been moved to Mardan for medical assistance.



This is the second of such attacks to have taken place in 2018. On January 17, a transgender person was shot and injured in Peshawar.  Abid, who is also known as Sonia, was fired upon in the Pahandu area of the city and had to be rushed to the hospital in a critical condition.

In a separate incident, a transgender was first kidnapped and then gang-raped by at least nine people Gulbahar neighbourhood of Peshawar on January 22. Sources said that the crime was committed because she was advocating for the rights of the transgender community. The culprits also threatened to kill S* if she disclosed to anyone about the incident.

Rights activist Qamar Naseem claimed that the police did not send the victim for medical examination in a bid to save the culprits.



Meanwhile, speaking to The Express Tribune, another Rights activist Taimur Kamal said it was unfortunate that violence against the members of transgender community was still continuing. “In our society, there is no place for the third gender, they are constantly targeted without inviting much attention,” he said.