Government of Pakistan, Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Division issued a Notification on 23-12-2022 in connection with Public and Optional Holidays 2023 Pakistan.  The Public Holidays 2022 in Pakistan are general holidays for all public. The Optional Holidays 2013 are not for the general public. These holidays are locally based and any event-specific or religious-specific holidays like Christmas, Diwali, etc.

Public and Optional Holidays 2022 in Pakistan

There are five types of holidays, these are as under:

• Public Holidays
• Optional Holidays
• Local Holidays
• Bank Holidays
• Educational Institutions Holidays / Vacation

You will read the details of public and optional holidays 2023 throughout the year 2023 in Pakistan.  Some holidays are public holidays but only for the Christmas as Day after Christmas. There is also a third type of holiday which is a Bank Holiday. During bank holidays only banks remain closed for public dealing only. Otherwise, their staff remains present in banks to finalize the work.  There is another type of holiday that is called winter/ summer/spring vacations in Schools, Colleges, or Universities. These types of holidays are only for school/college students and teachers.  The teachers get a Conveyance Allowance during Vacations while they enjoy holidays.

Schedule of Public Holidays in Pakistan during 2023

The Schedule of Public Holidays at a notional level in the year 2023 is as follows:-

The government of Pakistan issued a Notification of cancellation of the Iqbal Day Holiday in 2015 but in 2022 Government restored the Iqbal Day holiday. In this new schedule of holidays in 2023 this holiday is also included in the list.

List Bank Holidays in Pakistan in 2023

These Bank Holidays in Pakistan in 2023 are as under:

List of Optional Holidays:-

The optional holidays in 2023 are as mentioned:-

The Hindus Community will observe the Diwali holiday on 12-11-2023 as the same community observed the same in 2022. Sindh Government issued a specific notification of Holidays on 24th Oct 2022 on Divwli in Sindh province.

Instructions about Optional Holidays

As the schedule for Public,  Optional, and Bank holidays already have been mentioned.  Here are some instructions regarding the Optional Holidays:-

No dislocation:-

The  Optional holidays are denominational and they can be provided by the Head of an Office. But he must make sure that the work does not suffer. If there is any Optional Holiday granted, it should not impact the work. If there is any Muslim Optional Holiday, the staff should be regulated in an appropriate manner. There should be no dislocation of work in case of Optional concession.

Government Servants:-

Government Servants should not be refused. On the occasion of any Optional Holiday,  which is of religious significance, the government servant should not be ordinarily refused. His refusal on such occasions is likely to decrease the number of holidays to which he/she is entitled.