A man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his transgender son in Pakistan, police have said.

The body of Aftab Aurangzeb, 19, who was also known as Maya, was discovered on a river bank in her hometown of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.

Maya had previously been staying in the provincial capital of Peshawar with friends, who had expressed concern for her safety.

They asked police to gather assurances from the family that she would not be hurt when she returned home, which Maya's father, Aurangzeb Akbar, gave in writing.

Despite the assurances, Maya was found dead on Saturday evening, with her body riddled with bullets.


Transgender people in conservative Pakistan have a history of being subjected to abuse and honour killings by their families.

Last year, politicians passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, which gives Pakistan's transgender population basic rights and prohibits discrimination and harassment.