Fact Check: Has Punjab govt imposed a tax on graves?

Claim:

A clip from a local news channel shared on social media claims that the Punjab government has imposed a tax on graves in its new budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.

According to the claim, Rs1,500 and Rs1,000 taxes were imposed for adults and children's graves, respectively.

Fact Check:

Government officials have denied the claim, stating that no grave tax has been levied in Punjab province and no proposal for such a tax is under consideration.

Special Secretary for Local Government and Community Development, Asiya Gul, termed the online claim as "fake".

She confirmed that no such proposal has been initiated or approved.

Aslam Nadeem, director of administration and finance at the Punjab Shehr-e-Khamushan Authority, also confirmed that he had not seen any such proposal and was "unaware of any tax on graves in the province".

Dialogue Pakistan's fact-check team has also reviewed the Punjab budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 and concluded that the claim is false.

Further investigation revealed that the local news channel clip being shared online is actually from 2019.