Peshawar Mar 4: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwest Pakistan has allocated Rs 75 million for the construction of five cremation grounds for the Hindu community and creation of seven graveyards for Christians.

According to provincial officials, a total of Rs 24 million has been allocated for the construction of five cremation grounds and Rs 51 million has been set aside for the creation of seven Christian graveyards in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said the purchase of four-kanal (0.5 acre) land for cremation ground in Peshawar and two-kanal (0.25 acre) each in Hangu, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been approved by the department concerned.

The purchase of six-kanal (0.75 acre) land for Christian graveyard in Peshawar, five-kanal (0.62 acre) each in Mardan, Kohat, Swabi and Dir Lower and four-kanal each in Swat and Nowshera districts have also been approved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. In January, the provincial government had declared the ancient Hindu religious site of Panj Tirath in Peshawar as a national heritage.

Minority religions make up just 4 per cent of Pakistan's 200 million people. Hindus make up the country's second-largest minority, with more than 2 million, living mainly in the southern Sindh province.