RAWALPINDI: Punjab Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Basharat Raja on Sunday said the government has allocated 100 kanals in Rakh Dhamial for the graveyard of minorities while the remaining 900 kanals will be used by Muslims.

He stated this while inaugurating the newly-constructed funeral space and graveyard at Rakh Dhamial under Shehr-i-Khamoshan project.

Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, PTI local leaders Amir Mehmood Kiani, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Raja Rashid Hafeez, Umar Tanveer Butt, Mohammad Nasir Raja and others were present on the occasion.

The minister claimed that the PTI government had fulfilled the long-standing demand of the people of the cantonment and the city and allocated 1,000 kanals in Rakh Dhamial for the graveyard.

The boundary wall has been constructed and other facilities including a funeral space, residences for the guards and watchmen and buses have been provided. He said Rs40 million had been spent on the Rakh Dhamiyal graveyard.

The minister said Rs50 million would be spent on the construction of a road to the graveyard. He said more buses would be provided by Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation and the cantonment boards for the graveyard.

It may be mentioned that work on Rakh Dhamial graveyard started in 2017 during the tenure of PML-N government. Former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the Shehr-i-Khamoshan project to improve the condition of graveyards in the province.

In 2021, the then mayor Sardar Naseem allocated Rs20 million for development work at Rakh Dhamial graveyard besides purchasing three funeral buses.

On the other hand, officials of the district administration said that people were not interested in burying their near and dear ones in Rakh Dhamial as it was out of the city.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2022