Police in Bahawalnagar, Pakistan, have arrested two brothers in the killing of Zoya, a transgender woman who used to work as a victim response officer at the district police chief’s office, Dawn reported Oct. 28.
Four men attacked her with sticks on Oct. 23 while she was on her way to the District Headquarters Hospital, police said. She died Oct. 24.
A police spokesperson told Dawn a murder case has been registered against all four.
Zoya Had Filed a Harassment Case Against the Men, Police Say
About a month before the attack, Zoya registered a case at the B Division Police Station, police told Dawn. The suspects wanted a relationship with her, Dawn reported. When she turned them down, they started harassing and threatening her, and she allegedly got death threats.
Her sister, Mehnaz Bano, filed the murder complaint. Bano said the men pressured Zoya to give a statement in their favor in the pending case and threatened to kill her if she didn’t, Voicepk.net reported. Bano said she was in shock and didn’t go to police until after the burial.
The complaint says the attack happened around 8:30 a.m. near Sultan Pump in Farooqabad, where Zoya lived. She was waiting for a ride to the hospital to pick up medicine. Muhammad Waqas hit her below the left eye with a club, and the others beat her with sticks, according to the complaint. Two bystanders, Manzoor Hussain and Zahid Abbas, stepped in.
Dawn said Zoya was with her sister. Voicepk.net’s account said a brother was with her.
The complaint names Waqas and Muhammad Suleman. District Police Officer Muhammad Imran formed a team to arrest everyone involved, Voicepk.net reported. The two other men hadn’t been identified.
Attacks on Transgender People in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
In September 2025, police in Bahawalnagar district booked two young men for raping and robbing a transgender woman who danced at weddings, Dawn reported.
In neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, activists say at least 154 transgender people have been killed since 2015, Tribal News Network reported in June 2025.
Police official Javed Iqbal told Voicepk.net the investigation into Zoya’s death is ongoing.
