Pakistan, July 10 -- A society's commitment to human dignity is measured not only by how it treats its citizens during their lifetime, but also by how it honours them after death. In Pakistan's rapidly expanding metropolitan centres, however, a disturbing reality is emerging: finding a burial place for a deceased loved one has become an exhausting and deeply distressing ordeal. What was once a routine civic responsibility is fast turning into an urban planning crisis.

Cities such as Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad continue to expand outward through new housing developments, commercial projects and private residential schemes. Every day, newspapers, electronic media and digital platforms advertise new housing societies ...