Transgender woman killed in Peshawar over friendship dispute

A transgender woman, identified as Sara, was shot and killed in Peshawar after refusing to engage in a friendship and allegedly not paying extortion, police officials said on Monday.

The incident occurred outside a plaza in the Faqirabad area, where motorcycle-riding assailants opened fire, hitting Sara six to seven times. She was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital’s ICU but succumbed to her injuries.

Sara, an Afghan national, had lived in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district for several years before moving to Peshawar around five to six years ago. Due to lack of official documentation, her body could not be sent back to Afghanistan and was buried in Rahman Baba Cemetery under police and transgender community supervision.

Faqirabad SP Resham Jahangir told Express Tribune that no concrete evidence of extortion or threat letters had been found so far. “Preliminary investigations suggest that Sara was killed over refusing friendship. The accused, Adam, had a prior friendship with her, and the incident occurred because she chose not to maintain friendships with anyone else,” he said.

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A close associate of the suspect has been taken into custody, and police are working to apprehend the main perpetrator. He added that a financial dispute may also have contributed, as the accused allegedly spent a large sum on Sara and a conflict arose when he demanded it back, escalating to gunfire. An FIR has been registered at Faqirabad Police Station.

Farzana, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shemale Association, condemned the killing, saying, “It is a tragic incident. Transgender people in the province are being killed regularly while being denied opportunities to participate in functions and events.”

Arzu, a transgender rights activist with TransAction Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Express Tribune that Sara could not be kept in the hospital for long due to the severity of her injuries. “She was hit by seven bullets, and her burial had to be conducted promptly,” Arzu said.

She added that since 2015, a total of 170 transgender individuals have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with over 700 injured in shootings and violent attacks, yet perpetrators are rarely brought to justice.

Authorities assured the transgender community that protection measures will be strengthened, and the killers will be apprehended soon.