LHC orders govt to provide free burial in cemeteries

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has ordered the Punjab government to conduct free burial in cemeteries. The court imposed a ban on collection of money for burial in cemeteries across the province. Justice Qasim Khan issued an eight-page written verdict on Saturday.

The LHC CJ observed that the Punjab government should amend the law regarding burial of the deceased. He also cited Hadiths and international laws in the verdict. The CJ wrote in the decision that citizens pay taxes to the government all their lives for buying various items. Even in death they are charged money in the name of graves and other things, he added.

It is a responsibility of the government to bear the cost of burial. The law should be amended so that the administration could provide free transport to the cemetery for burial, he added.

It was suggested in the verdict that the administration should take steps to maintain the cemeteries and plant trees. It was also made compulsory for the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to allocate land for graveyards in private housing societies.