ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government just announced a detailed list of all public and optional holidays that will be recognised across the country in 2022.
According to the Cabinet Division’s official notification, there will be a total of 14 public holidays, with the first being Kashmir Day, which will be commemorated on February 5th.
Let’s have a look at all the public holidays for 2022:
| Sr. No. | Name of Occasion | Day(s) | Date(s) |
| 1 | Kashmir Day | Saturday | 5 February |
| 2 | Pakistan Day | Wednesday | 23 March |
| 3 | Labour Day | Sunday | 1 May |
| 4* | Eid-ul-Fitr | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday | 3, 4, 5 May |
| 5* | Eid-ul-Azha | Sunday, Monday, Tuesday | 10, 11, 12 July |
| 6* | Ashura | Sunday, Monday | 7, 8 August |
| 7 | Independence Day | Sunday | 14 August |
| 8* | Eid Milad-un-Nabi | Sunday | 9 October |
| 9 | Quaid-e-Azam Day/Christmas | Sunday | 25 December |
| 10 | Day after Christmas (only for Christian community) | Monday | 26 Decembe |
On the other hand, there will be a total of 23 optional holidays. Let’s have a look at them.
| Sr. No. | Occasion | Day(s) | Date(s) |
| 1 | New Year Day | Saturday | 1 January (already observed) |
| 2 | Basant Punchami | Saturday | 5 February |
| 3 | Shivaratri | Tuesday | 1 March |
| 4* | Shab-e-Meraj | Tuesday | 1 March |
| 5 | Holi | Thursday | 17 March |
| 6 | Dulhandi | Friday | 18 March |
| 7* | Shab-e-Barat | Friday | 18 March |
| 8 | Baisakhi | Thursday | 14 April |
| 9 | Good Friday | Friday | 15 April |
| 10 | Easter/Day after Easter | Sunday, Monday | 17, 18 April |
| 11 | Eid-e-Rizwan | Thursday | 21 April |
| 12 | Buddha Purnima | Monday | 16 May |
| 13 | Nauroze | Tuesday | 16 August |
| 14 | Janam Ashtami | Friday | 19 August |
| 15 | Khordad Sal | Sunday | 21 August |
| 16* | Chehlum | Saturday | 17 September |
| 17 | Durga Puja | Monday | 3 October |
| 18 | Dussehra | Wednesday | 5 October |
| 19 | Birthday of GuruValmik Sawami Ji | Sunday | 9 October |
| 20 | Diwali | Monday | 24 October |
| 21* | Giyarvee Shareef | Monday | 7 November |
| 22 | Birthday of Guru Nanak | Tuesday | 8 November |
Muslim employees will be given one alternative holiday, while non-Muslim employees would be granted three.
Meanwhile, banks will be closed for public trading on the 3rd of January (already observed), the 4th of April, and the 1st of July.
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