Two transgender women, including an Afghan national, were injured after unidentified gunmen on motorcycles opened fire in the Faqeerabad area of Peshawar. Police said both victims were taken to hospital for treatment.
Pakistani police identified the victims as Muskan, an Afghan national, and Neelam, a Pakistani citizen. Local authorities said the attackers fled the scene after the shooting and that efforts to identify and arrest them are continuing.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. Muskan previously told Afghanistan International that returning to Afghanistan would mean facing violence, abuse and even death for her and other Afghan transgender women.
“For us, even our own country has become a foreign place,” she said. “Life is difficult here in Peshawar as well, but we would rather endure these hardships than return to Afghanistan and face a violent and humiliating death.”
People with diverse gender identities in Afghanistan, particularly since the Taliban returned to power, have faced social exclusion, security threats and a lack of legal protection. Many have been forced to live in isolation or flee the country.
Earlier, the German investigative outlet Correctiv reported that Afghan LGBTQ+ people continued to face insecurity, fear of deportation, family violence and limited support even after fleeing to Pakistan and Germany.
In December 2023, an Afghan transgender woman named Noor Mohammad Abidi was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Peshawar.
