PESHAWAR: Members of transgender community on Friday claimed that a group of extortionists belonging to Tehkal area here was sending them life threats and urged the provincial government to take action for their protection.

Speaking at a press conference here, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shemale Association’s representative Paro alleged that a group of influential people was in the habit of keeping the transgender community members hostage for hours and depriving them of cash, mobile phones and other valuables for no fault of theirs.

Flanked by a number of transgender persons, Paro demanded of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and inspector general of police to take notice of the injustice with the community and ensure their security. She said that the local police were least bothered to take action against those sending them threats.

The association’s representative said that on the one hand the government had banned wedding ceremonies, on the other the influential people were sending them threats and as such they could not earn their livelihood. The ban on participation of transgender persons in the functions, she added, could force them to start begging to make both ends meet.

Another transgender Naina alleged that a fake case was registered against her in Tehkal police station and that police had also tortured her. She claimed that the accused persons who were arrested in crimes against transgender people managed to get bail easily as the cases were not properly registered by the relevant police.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2020