LGBT rights in Pakistan

LGBT rights in Pakistan
Area controlled by Pakistan shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
Status	Illegal since 1862; criminalised under Section 377[1]
Penalty	2 years–life imprisonment; fines.[2] (Sharia law can enforce a death penalty but proof requirements are high and no evidence of judicial implementation)
Gender identity	Third gender recognised; transgender people allowed to change legal gender
Military	No
Discrimination protections	Gender identity only, not sexuality
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex unions
Adoption	No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Pakistan face legal and social difficulties and persecution compared to non-LGBT persons. Pakistani law prescribes criminal penalties for same-sex sexual acts.

The Pakistani Penal Code of 1860, originally developed under the British Raj, criminalises sodomy with possible penalties of prison sentences from two years to a life sentence and fines. Despite its illegality, homosexual acts are only occasionally prosecuted by authorities, but it's sometimes used to threaten and harass homosexuals under threat of prosecution.^[3][4] Other morality and public order provisions in the Penal Code are used to target LGBT Pakistanis as well.^[1] Another greater problem can be vigilate policing and killings by Islamist and terrorist groups.^[5] Police may also act illegally and arrest LGBTQ individuals despite the law stating otherwise.^[6]

Discrimination and disapproval of the LGBT community and the associated social stigma, which can lead to harassment and violence, make it difficult for LGBT people to have steady relationships.^[7] Nevertheless, the LGBT community is still able to socialise, organise, date, and even—in rare cases—live together as couples, if done mostly in secret.^[8] Neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions are permitted under current law and are scarcely ever brought up in the political discourse, with people who have engaged in same-sex marriages being arrested and prosecuted.

Pakistan does not have civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation. In a historic 2009 ruling, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favour of civil rights for transgender citizens, and further court rulings upheld and increased these rights. The Parliament of Pakistan passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, which established broad protections for transgender people.

A petition to challenge the Act was filed in 2020 with the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan. The challenge was based on an argument that rather than protections for transgender rights, the act could in effect decriminalise homosexuality because it distinguished between gender and sex. On 19 May, 2023, the Shariat Court ruled in favour of the petitioners, concluding that Islamic law is based on biological sex, and declaring that sections 2(f), 3 and 7 of the Act, concerning self-perceived gender, do not conform with Islamic principles. Local transgender groups have said they plan to lodge appeals with the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court. Until a final ruling is rendered, the provisions of the Act will remain in effect. In addition, the Court's judgement confirmed the legitimacy of a third gender for intersex persons under Islamic law.^{[9][10][11][12]}