PM thanks Sri Lanka for lifting ban on burial of COVID-19 victims

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday welcomed the lifting of ban on the burial of bodies of people whose deaths were caused by the COVID-19 disease in Sri Lanka.

According to the details, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday took to this Twitter and thanked Sri Lankan leadership for lifting the ban.

In his tweet he wrote:

I thank the Sri Lankan leadership & welcome the Sri Lankan govt’s official notification allowing the burial option for those dying of Covid 19.

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I thank the Sri Lankan leadership & welcome the Sri Lankan govt's official notification allowing the burial option for those dying of Covid 19.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 26, 2021

Today, health ministry spokesman of Sri Lanka announced that government has lifted a controversial ban on the burial of bodies of people whose deaths were caused by the killer virus.

The ban was lifted after months of protests mainly by Muslim groups and international pressure.

In March last year, the Sri Lankan government imposed regulations that said the bodies of COVID-19 victims could only be cremated. The rules banned burial, saying the virus could spread by contaminating groundwater.

But Muslim groups insisted the government’s decision had no scientific base and wanted the ban lifted as cremating a body went against their Islamic faith.

On Wednesday this week, Muslim parliamentarians urged Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan who was visiting the country to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan political leaders.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Muslims account for about 10 percent of the country’s population of 21 million.