A transgender woman named Sara was fatally shot in Peshawar, Pakistan, after she declined an individual’s friendship and allegedly did not pay extortion. The incident occurred outside a plaza in Faqirabad, where attackers on a motorcycle fired at Sara multiple times. Despite being rushed to Lady Reading Hospital, she succumbed to her injuries.
Sara, originally from Afghanistan, had been living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district before relocating to Peshawar five to six years ago. Due to a lack of official documents, her body could not be repatriated to Afghanistan, and she was laid to rest in Rahman Baba Cemetery under police and transgender community supervision. Preliminary investigations suggest that Sara’s refusal to maintain a friendship with the accused, Adam, led to her tragic demise.
Authorities have arrested a close associate of the suspect and are actively pursuing the main perpetrator. The police suspect a financial dispute may have triggered the violence, as the accused had reportedly spent a significant sum on Sara. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shemale Association highlighted the regular killings of transgender individuals in the province and their exclusion from social activities and events.
Transgender rights activist Arzu from TransAction Alliance Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expressed concern over the escalating violence against transgender individuals in the region. She cited a disturbing statistic of 170 transgender individuals killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2015, with many more sustaining injuries in shootings and attacks. The lack of accountability for perpetrators adds to the challenges faced by the transgender community in seeking justice.
