“When we neared our dera, a man stepped out from the dark and started shooting at us,” says Mona Khan (Mohsin), lying on a bed in the Ayub Medical Complex in Abottabad.

On March 13, Mona Khan and four other members of the transgender community were shot and injured in Mansehra city. One of the injured, Samero, succumbed to his injuries at Ayub Medical College Hospital, Abottabad on March, 22.

Natasha, one of those an injured in the attack, says she is afraid for her life. “No policeman or administration official has visited us. All we have is Allah’s mercy,” she says.

Sajjad Khan, the Mansehra district police officer, says they have arrested a suspect. “When Sibtain was arrested we also recovered the handgun used in the attack. We produced him before a judge and he confessed to the crime,” DPO Khan says. “I am hopeful for a conviction in the case unless the victims reach an out-of-court settlement with the accused,” he says. To a question, the DPO says that after the reported attack the district police have increased patrolling near transgender residences.

According to the transgender community, three transgender persons have been murdered and more than a dozen wounded in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March alone. On March 18, a trans- community member, Nasar Khan from Swat was shot dead in Peshawar. Nadra Khan, the president of Hazara Transgender Rights Association, says they are being hounded across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the police have failed to protect them.

Apart from violent attacks, the community faces discrimination, exploitation and economic deprivation, she says.

Shahnawaz (Shani), a member of the transgender community, lives in a rented room on the outskirts of Mansehra city. There is no electricity in the room. “The landlord disconnected the electricity after I fell behind on payments. I have been looking for another room, but it is very difficult to find a place when you don’t have a national identity card,” he says.

“I had left my home in Peshawar in 2000 when I was 17. After the death of my father, my brothers and sisters got themselves registered with the NADRA but removed my name from the B-Form. When I visited the NADRA office in Mansehra, they told me that I was not among the children listed under the name of my father, Malik Abdullah. I will never be able to get an ID card. Officially, I don’t exist,” says Shahnawaz says, tears running down his cheeks.

According to the transgender community, three transgender persons have been murdered and more than a dozen wounded in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March. On March 18, one Nasar Khan from Swat was shot dead in Peshawar. Nadra Khan, the president of Hazara Transgender Rights Association, says they are being hounded across the province and that the police have failed to protect them.

Many transgender persons have similar stories to tell.

According to Chapter V of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, there shall be no discrimination against transgender persons in acquiring the rightful share of property as prescribed under the law of inheritance.

Nayab, a leader of the trans- community works at the Trans Tahffuz office in Islamabad. She says Islamic law provides the right to inheritance right for transgendered persons, but the society does not ensure its enforcement.

“In many cases, parents exclude their transgender children from the registration with the NADRA. Those who are registered are frequently registered as male. Then there are those who are registered as transgender under the names of their gurus. In both cases, it is difficult to get a share in inheritance,” she says.

Rawalpindi-based transgender person, Saba Gul, owns a house where many other members of her community come seeking shelter.

“My father had inherited property in the village in Haripur which I donated to a seminary and graveyard and moved to Rawalpindi after my father fell ill,” says Saba Gul. Gul who lives in Pirwadhai area of Rawalpindi, claims that she has been providing shelter to over 300 transgender persons in Rawalpindi and helping them.

To a question, she says the most of the trans- people killed for honour are on their own. “They are adrift from their homes and families. No one pursues their cases or avenges their deaths. That makes them an easy target.”

“My family, too, has removed my name from the B-Form. I was to get a fuel station located on the main Kohat Road out of the inheritance. My brothers are running it and make a lot of money. I don’t get a penny from them. I cannot move a court without a document to show that I am related to the family,” she says.

Mehk Shah, another transgender person, says the government should instruct the NADRA to investigate claims of inheritance by transgender people who have been disowned by their families. “This is the only way to help many people out of poverty,” she says.

The writer is a freelance journalist. He writes on human rights, tourism and education. He tweets at umar_shangla