ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan has thanked the Sri Lankan leadership and welcomed the Sri Lankan government's official notification allowing the burial option for those dying of COVID-19.
Khan’s tweet comes after Sri Lanka made changes to the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance(Chapter 222) allowing the burial of Muslim COVID-19 victims.
Earlier, the bodies of the coronavirus victims had to be cremated irrespective of their religious identity.
Now the families of those who died of coronavirus have the option to either bury or cremate the body after the regulation was amended to replace the phrase “cremation of the corpse” with “cremation or burial of the corpse”.
Acknowledging Pakistan's position, the Sri Lankan government has issued a formal notification to provide cremation and burial facilities to those who died due to COVID-19.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi also thanked the Sri Lankan leadership in a tweet.