Rawalpindi — Soaring inflation in Pakistan has made funerals and burials unaffordable for many families in Rawalpindi, creating a widening humanitarian strain as households take on debt to perform basic rites, according to reports from The Express Tribune via ANI.
For generations, local volunteers in Rawalpindi dug graves free as a charitable, religious duty. That informal system has largely vanished, replaced by commercialised burial services and stricter cemetery rules. At the same time, many graveyards are running out of space; several major cemeteries have posted notices that no burial plots remain.
Families now face steep fees for securing a plot, digging the grave and preparing surrounding brickwork, with total costs reported around PKR 40,000–45,000. Washing and other ritual services are often treated as additional paid services. The surge in prices affects all funeral essentials: burial shrouds that once cost modest sums are now selling for roughly PKR 3,000–4,000, while items such as rose water, incense, camphor and flower petals add about another PKR 2,000 or more. Many poorer households are forced to buy lower-quality shrouds because of rising prices.
Permanent grave structures have also become pricier. Simple brick-and-cement graves may run close to PKR 15,000, while marble graves can exceed PKR 30,000 depending on design and materials. There are also allegations that some cemetery workers remove or reuse neglected graves in exchange for payments, raising ethical concerns about how burial sites are being managed.
Civil groups such as the Citizens Action Committee have urged the public to rethink extravagant wedding and celebration spending and instead support grieving families who cannot afford burial costs.
This account draws on reporting syndicated from ANI and The Express Tribune and is published as received.
