A social media post by Islamabad police advertising jobs for the position of constables has become the latest rallying cry for the right-wing elements that enjoy primacy in Pakistan’s political and media landscape.

“All genders will be provided equal opportunity for employment,” read the Twitter post that contained information about the job post.

The job posting comes as Pakistan remains in the grips of another heated debate - taking place on TV talk shows, social media and as well as drawing rooms and street corners - about the transgender act.

Under the act, transgenders can take up self-perceived gender identity. The debate started when a right-wing senator called for the formation of a medical board to determine gender. The criticism is that those backing this legislation have taken a stealthy route to legalise protection for homosexuality under the garb of protecting the rights of transgender people.

One of those leading the “charge” against the law is controversial media personality Orya Maqbool Jan.

“Under Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Islamabad Police is recruiting constables under the Transgender Act,” he tweeted to his more than 700,000 followers on Twitter.

“Homosexuals will be recruited without any medical test,” he wrote.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, who reignited the debate with his claim that the transgender act would allow same-sex marriage, raised similar concerns over the job post.

“This means a man, who claims to self-identify as a woman, can get recruited as a woman cop. That man, having a trans woman card with ‘X’ as gender, will then conduct physical search of women,” he wrote.

This law, known as the Transgender Act, was presented in the last days of the PML-N’s tenure when Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was prime minister, by the Pakistan People’s Party’s senators (Rubina Khalid, Rubina Irfan, Samina Saeed, Kulsoom Parveen, Karim Ahmed Khawaja). All parties, including the PML-N, PPP, PTI unanimously voted in support of it and made it law.