The Ministry of Interior issued a notification on Friday announcing the public and optional holidays for the year 2021.
The total number of public holidays for the general public is fourteen, the first being on Kashmir Day on 5 February and the last being on Quaid-e-Azam/Christmas Day on 25 December.
Here is a complete list of public holidays:
Occasion | Day | Date in 2021 |
Kashmir Day | Friday | 5 February |
Pakistan Day | Tuesday | 23 March |
Labor Day | Saturday | 1 May |
Eid-ul-Fitr | Friday, Saturday, Sunday | 14, 15, and 16 May |
Eid-ul-Adha | Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday | 21, 22, and 23 July |
Independence Day | Saturday | 14 August |
Ashura | Wednesday and Thursday | 18 and 19 August |
Eid Milad-un-Nabi | Tuesday | 19 October |
Quaid-e-Azam Day/Christmas Day | Saturday | 25 December |
At least 22 optional holidays have been announced for government employees. However, one Muslim employee is allowed only one optional holiday, and a non-Muslin employee is allowed three optional holidays.
For Muslims, the optional holidays include Chehlum, Giyarvee Shareef, and Shab-e-Barat, while non-Muslims can avail of any three days from Christmas Day, New Year Day, Good Friday, Easter, Nauroze, Diwali, and others.
Banks will be closed for public dealing on 1 January 2021, 14 April 2021, and 1 July 2021.