A two-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed all the provinces on Monday to provide job opportunities to the eunuchs to enable them to lead a respectable life. The court also ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold meetings with the social welfare departments as well as eunuchs on divisional or district level for registering them as voters.
The bench also told the chief secretaries of all the provinces to cooperate with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of national identity cards (NICs) to the eunuchs as well as to help them in property inheritance.
Expressing dismay over the Balochistan government for not taking any steps for the welfare of eunuchs, the court asked the Social Welfare Department secretary to explain why the court should not take action against him for showing negligence in implementing orders. During the hearing, applicant Dr Aslam Khakhi requested the court to direct the government to allocate quota in jobs for the eunuchs. He said that after the apex court’s intervention, people had started taking interest for the welfare of eunuchs. He said that three female students at Quad-e-Azam University, Islamabad were writing their theses on the issues of eunuchs.
