Tortured body of transgender person found in Peshawar, say police

E-Paper | March 18, 2026

Peshawar police on Saturday recovered the body of a transgender person, who had reportedly been murdered three days ago, police officials informed DawnNews.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sajjad Khan said that the body of a brutally tortured transgender person was recovered from Ashiqabad area near Warsak Road in Peshawar.

The corpse, the SSP claimed, was three days old and bore signs of torture. He further said that the police have not been able to identify the body so far, though fingerprints and DNA samples have been collected.

The police had asked the local transgender community if they could identify the body, however, none of them was able to recognise the deceased. The head of transgender association, Laila Khan, said that the slain was not from Peshawar.

A case has been registered by the police against unidentified persons.

More than 50 transgender persons were killed in 2015 and 2016, according to TransAction President Farzana — a rights organisation in Peshawar.

The status of the transgender community, also known as khawajasiras, is opaque in the country, to say the least.

They number at least half a million in the country, and according to several studies — up to two million, says TransAction.

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Venkat

Oct 21, 2017 08:28pm

Horrible. Pakistan is not safe place for Transgender people.

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Asif A. Shah

Oct 21, 2017 08:33pm

Terrible! I hope that the perpetrators are found and punished.

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Ahsan Gul

Oct 21, 2017 08:40pm

What a shame that we have to read a news like this. Upbringing which includes at home, at school and society has a lot to do with ore behavior. We laugh at transgenders in our sitcoms and casually talking about this issue. We have a lot to learn.

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theCAPSgirlsSoundMAD

Oct 21, 2017 08:41pm

at least you changed the message!

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ahamed

Oct 21, 2017 08:44pm

Sad, sad! Is anybody helping these marginalized?

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Sha b

Oct 21, 2017 08:51pm

When minorities are considered subhuman in Pakistan what respect you will expect for transgender ?

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Ahmed bin Babar

Oct 21, 2017 09:27pm

RIP, inhumane indeed...

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jaredlee67

Oct 21, 2017 09:41pm

@Venkat Stop making generalizations. By your statement, the entire world is not safe for humans as crimes happen every where.

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Baba bandook

Oct 21, 2017 09:42pm

Very sad incident, RIP poor soul.

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jaredlee67

Oct 21, 2017 09:49pm

The day we realize that EVERY human being--male, female, disabled/special, transgender, gay, lesbian, elderly, child, infant, black/brown/white, etc., has a soul (spark of the Divine Light), these hate crimes will end automatically. Till then we should keep educating ourselves and others that no one is perfect. Imperfections should be understood and respected, instead of being criticized. This is why other countries in the world are way ahead of us, not because of money, but because of respect for 'human life'. School teachers should inculcate these teachings in schools, colleges, universities. And then we can think of and talk about Naya Pakistan. Naya Pakistan is not about tall buildings, it is about changes in our own mindset, it is about re-visiting our values and about speaking the truth and caring for others, especially those who are vulnerable. May the soul of this person, who was murdered, rest in eternal peace (ameen). In the eyes of the Lord, gender does not matter.

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Sameer

Oct 21, 2017 10:04pm

What disgusting horror. Why does this continue to be allowed? Where is the 5 star kpk Law enforcement?

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Oct 21, 2017 10:20pm

RIP humanity

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Shahida Khan

Oct 21, 2017 10:24pm

'Naya Pakistan', it seems, is not a very safe place for the misunderstood and the marginalised. Pity! RIP to the departed soul. Hope you are in a much better place now.

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Lyra

Oct 21, 2017 10:52pm

@Venkat : pakistan is not safe for any gender.

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Dvs

Oct 21, 2017 11:37pm

Pakistan is not safe for anybody. Even all neighbors and friends are fed up with them

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Salim Khan

Oct 22, 2017 12:38am

Stop this brutality. We must provide protection to these innocent people. This is horrible and painful to hear that another transgender was murdered. The govt has never been serious about the transgender community. They are respectable people of this society. Let's work together with the transgender community and help them to transitioning to a more respectful status.

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Ayub

Oct 22, 2017 04:52am

Very sad. In such circumstances, the entire population of the area where the incident occurred should be held accountable.

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Akber

Oct 22, 2017 05:48am

Sad. At least treat them as human being.

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Adil

Oct 22, 2017 05:50am

Shameful!

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Asad Ullah Khan Pokal Alai

Oct 22, 2017 06:01am

Gruesome! Government must work for their safety. They are innocence creatures why they are killing viciously.

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Ahsan Gul

Oct 22, 2017 07:12am

Inflicting barbaric actions on innocent people on Islam's name is a crime and unforgivable sin. Who is coaching these low life criminals to attack these transgenders?

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Punjabi255

Oct 22, 2017 07:44am

Transgenders are discriminated in most countries of the world even if the form of discrimination is different, discrimination is endemic in third world countries like India and Pakistan

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harish

Oct 22, 2017 10:24am

@Punjabi255 Pls don't make any such comparisons, I india we have judge, politicians transgenders, nobody Kill them just for being transgender

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MOIN UDDIN KHAN

Oct 22, 2017 10:33am

@Venkat Same like india which is not a safe place for women :) - with all due respect ( though not )

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Venkatkatooko

Oct 22, 2017 01:20pm

@Venkat Neither is india for them but also its not a safe country for western tourist either because of increase in rap cases...

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Velu Rajan

Oct 22, 2017 03:29pm

No country in South Asia is able to accept their minorities well. Transgender people are persecuted every where even in India too. But killing and torturing is unusual.

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Mr PQRS

Oct 22, 2017 05:38pm

Developmental biology needs to be touched on in Grade 7 Science Classes. (The müllerian ducts and Wolffian ducts and) abnormalities should not be objects of ridicule. There should be a fatwa against ridicule of those who are different. We are civilised, Yes? In normal human perception, we find Nature does make mistakes. It is NEVER the fault of the individual. Diligent Abattoir Veterinarians and Meat Inspectors see so many cases every month in a large facility for food animals (mammals). 'Nature's mistakes' are not so rare at all. It is NOT divine punishment. We need to teach right values: - kindness, empathy and acceptance, if we want to say we are civilised.

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