Two men were arrested in Peshawar on Friday over their alleged involvement in the murder of a transgender woman identified as Nazo the night before, police said.

Superintendent Police (SP) Cantt Waseem Riaz said the victim had been shot dead last night and then hacked to pieces.

One of the suspects was caught by police on Friday morning carrying a shopping bag full of human body parts. Police later discovered that they belonged to Nazo.

The suspect confessed to involvement in the murder and described the weapon that was used to kill Nazo. He admitted to having an accomplice, who was also arrested by police.

One of the suspects, who had been living with the victim in an apartment for a year, claimed that Nazo had been increasingly friendly with someone else. However, it is unclear if that was the motive behind the murder.

According to a recent report by the non-governmental organisation TransAction, around 55 transgender persons were killed, while 1,133 cases of other forms of violence against the community were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between 2015 and 2017.

Earlier, TransAction President Farzana had said that the reason behind the "rise" in attacks against the transgender community was that the accused were never punished by authorities.