• Four 500-acre graveyards to be established on city outskirts and one 25-acre within Karachi
• Sindh govt is likely to approve mayor’s proposal soon
• While burial charges are just Rs9,300 in KMC-run cemeteries, actual charged amount can run up to Rs150,000
KARACHI: Amid a burial-place crisis that could leave Karachi with nowhere to bury its dead by the year 2040, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has decided to establish four 500-acre graveyards on city outskirts and a new 25-acre graveyard within the metropolis.
The Sindh government has in principle agreed to this proposal and is likely to approve it soon.
The KMC’s plan came to the fore after repeated warnings that almost all city graveyards have run out of space for burial.
The situation has not only set off alarm bells but also exposed a set of troubling facts that are fast turning into a new challenge for Karachiites.
The sources said Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab pushed for the plan which got the provincial authorities’ nod after which the KMC could acquire plots at different locations.
“In recent meetings and back-to-back discussions between the two sides [the KMC and the Sindh government] it was finally decided that four major locations measuring around 500 acres each would be marked for the KMC graveyards at different city outskirts. A 25-acre piece of land has also been sought within the city which is also expected to receive a go-ahead from the Sindh government. The land within the city is expected to be marked near the newly built Shahrah-e-Bhutto,” said an official.
A KMC official said that the city has nearly 220 graveyards, of which 192 are formally allotted. Among the allotted graveyards, 173 are for Muslims and 19 for non-Muslims which included 12 Christian cemeteries and five Hindu cremation grounds.
“Of these allotted sites, 46 are overseen by the KMC, 20 are run by the Defence Housing Authority, various cantonments and government bodies, while 112 — 99 Muslim and 13 non-Muslim — are managed by social organisations, community groups and private entities. An additional 14 graveyards are operated by various institutions or individuals,” he added.
He said that amid complaints that old graves were being demolished to make room for new burial spaces, the KMC had already imposed a ban on burials in several major graveyards of the city, including Society Graveyard near Tariq Road, Model Colony Graveyard, Paposh Nagar Graveyard, Korangi No. 6 Graveyard, Yaseenabad Graveyard and Azeempura Graveyard. However, he acknowledged that the ban was not being fully enforced on any of these graveyards in practice.
With least focus of the law-enforcement agencies and deteriorating situation at most graveyards, the burial grounds are also fast becoming safe havens for drug traffickers and criminals, he added.
Another official said that the growing control of “mafias” on the city graveyards was not only a problem for Karachiites, but also had led to encroachments and illegal plotting, commonly known as “China-cutting”.
“The reality is that there is no space in the city’s well-known and traditional graveyards and this is the fact which KMC officials and certain other elements are exploiting,” said the official.
“If a family wishes to bury its loved one in a specific graveyard, only grave-related expenses can reach Rs100,000 Rs150,000. Most people are not even aware that at KMC-run graveyards, the grave and burial fee is just Rs9,300. But due to fast shrinking space, this job has become a mafia’s business. If the plan prepared and proposed by the Karachi mayor meets the reality, it would be a great relief for the Karachiites.”
Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2025
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