Court tells Punjab govt to ensure free-of-cost burials
Asks to amend the law
Photo: AFP
The Lahore High Court has directed the Punjab government to citizens are not charged any fee for burials across the province.
In an eight-page verdict, Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan directed the government to amend the law for free burials and transportation of bodies to graveyards.
The case pertained to a shortage of graveyards and improper maintenance and inadequate facilities at the cemeteries. Mubashir Ahmed Almas filed the petition, in which he made the provincial government a party.
Charging taxpayers for burials is inappropriate, the judge observed. The verdict included references to Hadiths and the international law.
The court ordered the government to establish model graveyards in Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi at the earliest.
It directed for merit-based appointments in the Punjab Shehr-e-Khamoshan Authority.
The authority regulates and manages model cemeteries and graveyards in the province.
