The Lahore High Court on Monday disposed of a petition when NADRA officials assured the court that a special column will be created for ID forms of transgender. The court was hearing a petition of transgender Waqar Ali who had approached the court for enforcement of his community's fundamental rights including enrolment in upcoming census and national identity cards by mentioning their gender.
Earlier, a law officer also told the court that the government is taking necessary steps to include their names in the next census. The petitioner, Waqar Ali, through his counsel, Sheraz Zaka, pleaded that the transgender people are not respected by society and even their parents do not own them due to social pressures and stigmas. He said the transgender community should be allowed to mention their gender in national identity cards and they must be registered in census. He further sought protection for the transgender community in performance of religious obligations like hajj and Umrah.