Pakistan public holidays
Federal public holidays for calendar year 2026, notified by the Cabinet Division (Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Pakistan) in its annual circular on public and optional holidays, as amended by the Prime Minister's separate moon-sighting notifications. Dates below are the FINAL notified dates.
| Current value | 15 days held |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-01-01 |
| In force until | 2026-12-31 |
| Official source | Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Division — Circular F.No. 10-1/2025-Min-II, Islamabad, 19 January 2026, 'Public and Optional Holidays for the Year 2026'; as amended by Notification No.10-1/2026-Min-II of 15 March 2026 (Eid-ul-Fitr: 20 and 21 March 2026), Notification No.10-01/2026-Min-II of 20 May 2026 (Eid-ul-Azha: 26, 27 and 28 May 2026) and Notification No.10-01/2026-Min-II of 22 June 2026 (Ashura: 25 and 26 June 2026) |
| Last verified | 2026-07-24 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
THE TRAP: the January circular's Islamic dates are anticipated only. It carries the footnote 'In the case of Muslim festivals, the dates of holidays are anticipated and are subject to the appearance of the moon, for which separate notifications will be issued by the Cabinet Division' — and in 2026 ALL THREE that have passed moved. As circulated in January: Eid-ul-Fitr 21/22/23 March, Eid-ul-Azha 27/28/29 May, Ashura 24/25 June. As actually notified: Eid-ul-Fitr 20/21 March (two days, not three — Notification of 15 Mar 2026, https://cabinet.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/Holidays/EidulFitr%202026.pdf, an image-only scan requiring OCR); Eid-ul-Azha 26/27/28 May (Notification of 20 May 2026, https://cabinet.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/Holidays/2026/Eid-ul-Azha-holidays-Notification-20_05_2026.pdf); Ashura 25/26 June (Notification of 22 Jun 2026, https://cabinet.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/Press%20Release/Notification_Ashura%20Public%20Holiday%2C%202026.pdf). All three are corroborated by the State Bank of Pakistan's own closure notices (SBP closed 26-28 May for Eid-ul-Adha, and 25-26 June for Ashura 'as declared by the Government of Pakistan'). Eid Milad-un-Nabi on 25 August 2026 is still only anticipated and should be re-checked in late August. Each notification states it applies 'both for offices observing five (5) and six (6) days' working weeks'. PROVINCES MAY DIVERGE AND LENGTHEN: for Eid-ul-Fitr 2026 the federal notification gave two days while Punjab announced a five-day break from 19 March and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa three days from 19 March; provincial notifications bind provincial offices. SEPARATE BANK HOLIDAYS (banks/DFIs/MFBs closed to the public but NOT to their employees) for 2026: 1 January, 18 February (1 Ramazan 1447, for deduction of Zakat, subject to appearance of the moon) and 1 July. OPTIONAL HOLIDAYS, which are denominational and granted at the discretion of the head of organisation (max one per year for Muslims, three for non-Muslims), are listed separately in the same circular and are NOT in the value above: New Year's Day 1 Jan, Shab-e-Meraj 17 Jan, Basant Punchami 23 Jan, Shab-e-Barat 4 Feb, Shiv Ratri 16 Feb, Dulhandi 3 Mar, Holi 4 Mar, Good Friday 3 Apr, Easter/Day after Easter 5-6 Apr, Baisakhi 14 Apr, Eid-e-Rizwan 21 Apr, Buddha Purnima 24 May, Chehlum 4 Aug, Nauroze 15 Aug, Birthday of Lord Zoroaster 20 Aug, Krishna Janam Ashtami 4 Sep, Giyarvee Shareef 23 Sep, Durga Puja 19 Oct, Dussehra 20 Oct, Birthday of Guru Valmik Sawami Ji 26 Oct, Diwali 9 Nov, Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji 24 Nov.
Get it programmatically
curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/pk/public-holidays
# Free.
# History: curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/pk/public-holidays/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/pk/public-holidaysOther Pakistan series: policy interest rate · VAT rate · minimum wage · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates