Pakistan Gay Travel Index 2026
Score = Legal 13/60 + Scene 0/40 = 13/100 · thin scene coverage — legal-weighted provisional score
Updated 7 Oct 2026 · release 2026.3.
A live score, not an annual report — it recomputes as laws, rulings and the scene itself change. See what moved in 2026.
Legal composite · Legal milestones · Scene on the ground · Frequently asked questions
Same-sex intimacy is criminalized or actively repressed here. Consult your government travel advisories before any trip; this listing is informational, not an endorsement of travel.
Legal composite — 13/60 points
| Criminalization | Death penalty possible |
|---|---|
| Partnership | ● No not recognised |
| Anti-discrimination | ● No |
| Gender recognition | Restricted — heavy barriers (surgery, courts) or rarely granted |
| Enforcement reality | Harassment — police or state harassment documented |
Research note: FSC 2023 gutted self-ID; NADRA X-only; 377 entrapment — GayOut Index 2026.3 legal research (ILGA World / Human Dignity Trust / Rainbow Europe / Equaldex).
Legal composite, five components
Fulfilment per component (100 = maximum). Weights: criminalisation 35% · partnership 20% · enforcement 20% · anti-discrimination 15% · gender recognition 10%.
Legal milestones
Background, not travel advice — how the current status came to be. For planning a trip, rely on the current score, tier and scene sections above; 2026 movements are tracked in the sourced change log.
- 1860The British colonial penal code's Section 377 criminalized same-sex relations with two years to life imprisonment, a provision Pakistan retained after independence in 1947. ↗
- 1979The Hudood Ordinances layered Islamic law punishments over the colonial ban, though they were not enforced against same-sex conduct after 1985. ↗
- 2009The Supreme Court recognized a third gender and ordered protections for khawaja sira and transgender citizens. ↗
- 2018The landmark Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act allowed gender self-identification and banned discrimination in employment, education and housing. ↗
- 2023The Federal Shariat Court partially invalidated the act's self-identification provisions as un-Islamic, a rollback contested on appeal. ↗
- TodaySection 377 still criminalized same-sex relations and the community lived largely in secrecy, though transgender protections survived in weakened form. ↗
Sources: ILGA World · Human Dignity Trust · Equaldex. Each milestone links to a reference source ↗.
Scene on the ground — 0/40 points
Detailed scene metrics (for researchers)
| Gay bars per million | 0 |
|---|---|
| Saunas per million | 0 |
| Events per million | 0 |
| Coverage grade | — |
| Scene score | 0/40 (raw scene index 0/100) |
Frequently asked questions
Is Pakistan safe for gay travellers?
Pakistan is rated Death-penalty risk on the GayOut Gay Travel Index 2026: same-sex intimacy is criminalized and can carry the death penalty. Its legal safety component is 13/60. On enforcement reality, police or state harassment is documented.
Is same-sex marriage legal in Pakistan?
No. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Pakistan. Overall legal status: Death penalty possible.
Does Pakistan have a gay scene?
GayOut currently lists no LGBTQ+ venues in Pakistan, so any gay scene is limited, informal or not publicly documented.