Peshawar:
The residents of Hayatabad are currently in a state of deep grief, anger, and anxiety because the security of the Hayatabad graveyard and its surrounding areas has completely collapsed. It is an extremely shameful and painful reality that the sacred graveyard has now become an open haven for heroin and crystal meth addicts, who roam around fearlessly and are even breaking and stealing the iron fences, marble slabs, and parts of graves.
According to local circles, this situation is clear proof that the DG Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) have completely failed to focus on their basic responsibilities. Public safety, the sanctity of graveyards, and respect for citizens’ religious sentiments should have been their top priorities, but continuous negligence has left this sacred place abandoned and unprotected.
When citizens complain about this distressing situation to the relevant administrators or posted watchmen, their response is full of helplessness, ignorance, and an admission of having no authority—direct evidence of the higher authorities’ lack of supervision and complete negligence.
Harsh Complaints Against Provincial Leadership
Residents of Hayatabad also say that this situation is not just the negligence of administrative bodies but the result of the continuous ignorance and insensitivity of those holding major government positions—whether they are:
• the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
• the Governor of the province,
• the relevant ministers and secretaries,
or
• other government officials.
The public strongly believes that these authorities rarely pay proper attention to such problems unless they directly affect their own selves or interests. Such negligence is becoming routine across the province, and the condition of the Hayatabad graveyard is the latest evidence of this style of governance.
Strong Demands of Hayatabad Residents
1. Graveyard security must be restored immediately and drug addicts must be completely removed.
2. Stolen fences, marble slabs, and other graveyard structures must be reinstalled without delay.
3. Effective boundary walls, proper lighting, and a modern surveillance system should be installed.
4. A monitoring, accountability, and regular reporting system for security personnel must be established.
5. The Hayatabad graveyard should be upgraded to the standards of secure and dignified graveyards such as those in Islamabad.
The residents of Hayatabad clearly state that if the DG PDA, IGP, and the provincial leadership do not take immediate, strict, and practical measures, a strong public reaction will be unavoidable. The desecration of sacred places will not be tolerated under any circumstances—what is needed now is action, not regret or statements.
