Court turns down man’s request for sex change

Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Khawaja Muhammad on Monday dismissed a petition by one Sami Saleem, 30, seeking permission to have a sex-change. The CJ observed that the petitioner lived in Rawalpindi and his case fell under the jurisdiction of the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC. The petitioner submitted that he was suffering from a gender identity disorder as he had apparently male characteristics, but his feelings and thoughts were like women’s. He said he had gone through counselling for two years and doctors had confirmed that he was suffering from gender identity disorder and needed an operation to change his sex. The petitioner said he had consulted many doctors to conduct his surgery but all of them declined, saying there was no law in the country that permitted them to carry out such an operation. He said they advised him to get permission from court. He claimed that such operations were being conducted in different Islamic countries, including Egypt and Iran. staff report