KP police to set up transgender help desks

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have decided to establish dedicated help desks for transgender people at police facilitation centres across the province, following reports of violence, killings and social challenges faced by the community.

Mardan Deputy Inspector General Qasim Ali Khan told The Express Tribune that providing facilities for transgender people, along with women, the elderly and persons with disabilities, was a priority. The move comes after the Peshawar High Court in July restrained police from harassing members of the transgender community and issued notices to the provincial government, police and other authorities on a petition alleging illegal evictions and harassment.

Charsadda District Police Officer Rifatullah Khan, speaking about the first such desk being established, said transgender people were an honourable part of society and denial of their basic rights, including registration of First Information Reports, or violence against them would not be tolerated. He said the desk would address the community's problems and provide all-out assistance. The Police Sahulat Markaz already had dedicated desks for women, minority communities, senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and the new desk would help redress transgender grievances.

There was some discrepancy in reporting on the location of the desks. The Express Tribune said they would be established at police facilitation centres across the province, while ProPakistani reported they would be set up at police stations.

Transgender social activist Rehano welcomed the initiative, saying it would help ensure respect and dignity for transgender people and recognition of their separate identity. Sobia Khan, one of the first transgender jail warders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said members of the community often faced rejection within their families as well as violence outside their homes. Representatives of the transgender community met senior police officials following a rise in incidents of violence, and those meetings led to the decision to establish the desks, she said.

According to data obtained by The Express Tribune from the K-P Transgender Association, around 170 transgender persons have been killed in the province since 2015. The association reported more than 700 incidents of violence against transgender people during the same period, an average of 63 incidents per year.