The Mansehra Police have managed to arrest and book a man, Sabteen Khan, said to be responsible for shooting five transgender persons inside their house in the Upper Channia area, reported Samaa TV.

He managed to initially escape but was eventually caught.

According to Mansehra Operations Jamil Akhter, four of the injured, namely Sumiro, Tulsi, Muna and Kaif are seriously injured have been moved to the Ayub Medical Hospital in Abbottabad.

They were admitted to King Abdullah Hospital in Mansehra after the shooting but were moved for important surgeries.

Akhter also said that the accused was living at the transgender persons' house but became violent and opened fire when a friend of one of the transgender people came to meet them.

The operations SP also said that an FIR had been registered at the Mansehra police station for attempted murder, under Section 324 of the Pakistan Penal code. However, the accused is still being questioned and the investigation is underway.

Social media users were shocked and widely condemned the incident with members of the community calling on the authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Lawyer Nighat Dad demanded local authorities to investigate the case properly and ensure delivery of justice as soon as possible.

This is not the first incident of violence against the transgender community.

In December last year, a transgender woman, who was among the organisers of the climate march, was allegedly abducted and raped the night before the event, with the attackers trying to extract information about the event.

Trans activist allegedly abducted, raped over climate march

In the same month, the Gender Interactive Alliance and Aurat March officials demanded an end to the “genocide of our khwaja sira sisters" while claiming that the four transgender women died due to the apathy of society.