Public holidays in Pakistan

Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Holidays in Pakistan are celebrated according to the Islamic or Gregorian calendars for religious and civil purposes, respectively. Religious holidays such as Eid are celebrated according to the Islamic calendar whereas other national holidays such as Labour Day,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pakistan Day, Independence Day, and Quaid-e-Azam Day are celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar. Seasonal festivals are celebrated according to the Bikrami calendar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Non-religious state holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Notes
5 February	Kashmir Solidarity Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Yakjehtī Kashmīr	Observed to show Pakistan's support and unity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
23 March	Pakistan Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Pākistān	Commemorates the Lahore Resolution, which formally demanded an independent Muslim-majority state to be created out of British India. The republic was also declared on this day in 1956.
1 May	Labour Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Mazdoor	Celebrates the achievements of labour.
28 May	Youm-e-Takbeer	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Takbīr	Commemorates the Chagai-I and Chagai-II series of nuclear tests.
14 August	Independence Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Azādī	Marking Pakistani independence and the formation of Pakistan in 1947.
9 November	Iqbal Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Iqbāl	Birthday of Muhammad Iqbal, national poet of Pakistan.
25 December	Quaid-e-Azam Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Quaid-e-Āzam	Birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan.

Islamic religious state holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Notes
Dhu al-Hijjah 10th	Eid-ul-Adha	Template:Nastaliq	Marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage; sacrifices offered on this day commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son
Shawwal 1st	Eid-ul-Fitr	Template:Nastaliq	Marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan
Rabiʽ al-Awwal 12th	Mawlid	Template:Nastaliq	Birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muharram 9th & 10th	Ashura	Template:Nastaliq	Karbala Day for Shias to the mourn for the martyred Imam Hussein ibn Ali, Grandson of Prophet Muhammad. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Prophet Musa and the salvation of the Israelites. Also on this day, Prophet Nuh disembarked from the Ark, God forgave Prophet Adam, and Prophet Yusuf was released from prison.

Optional holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Notes
1 January	New Year's Day	Template:Nastaliq Nayē Sāl kā Din	Commemorates the first day of the Gregorian calendar
Rajab 27th (27 January)	Lailat al-Miʿraj	Template:Nastaliq Shab-i Mi'rāj	Observes the night journey of Prophet Muhammad to Al-Aqsa and the heaven
Magha 5th (2 February)	Basant Panchami	Template:Nastaliq Basant Panchamī	Marks the start of spring and also honours the Hindu goddess Saraswati
Shaban 14th–15th (13–14 February)	Shab-e-Barat	Template:Nastaliq Shab-e-Barāt	Night of forgiveness for the Sunni Muslims
Phalguna 14th (26 February)	Maha Shivaratri	Template:Nastaliq Mahāshivarātri	Honours the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati
First full moon of Phalguna (14 March)	Holi	Template:Nastaliq Holī	Celebrates the love between the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna
Farvardin 1st (20 March)	Nowruz	Template:Nastaliq Naurōz	Persian New Year
Farvardin 7th (26 March)	Khordad Sal	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the birthday of Zarathushtra Spitama in Zoroastrianism
Vaisakh 1st (14 April)	Vaisakhi	Template:Nastaliq	Celebrates the spring harvest in Punjab
18 April	Good Friday	Template:Nastaliq	Observes the crucifixion of Jesus in Christianity
20 April	Easter	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the resurrection of Jesus in Christianity
Jalál 13th (20 April)	Ridván	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates Baháʼu'lláh's declaration as a Manifestation of God in Baháʼí Faith
First full moon of Vaisakha (5 May)	Buddha's Birthday	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama
Safar 20th (15 August)	Arba'in	Template:Nastaliq	Marks forty days after Ashura
Bhadra 8th (16 August)	Krishna Janmashtami	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the birthday of Hindu deity Krishna
Rabi' al-Thani 11th (4 September)	Gyarvi Sharif	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the gratuity and generosity of the Sufi scholar Abdul Qadir Gilani on the 11th of every month
6 September	Defence Day	Template:Nastaliq Yōum-e-Difā	To commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders and interests.
Ashvina 6th–10th (28 September–2 October)	Durga Puja	Template:Nastaliq	Celebrated because of Hindu deity Durga's victory over Mahishasura
Ashvina 10th (2 October)	Vijayadashami	Template:Nastaliq	Marks the end of Durga Puja
Ashvina 14th (6 October)	Diwali	Template:Nastaliq	Symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance" in Hinduism
Ashvina 15th (7 October)	Guru Valmiki's Birthday	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the birthday of the legendary poet Valmiki
First full moon of Kattak (5 November)	Guru Nanak Gurpurab	Template:Nastaliq	Commemorates the birthday of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak

• The Gregorian dates are according to the year 2025.

Historical evolution of holidays in Pakistan

In early years of its independence, people in Pakistan used to observe many multi faith holidays such as Holi, Diwali, Christmas, etc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, as the population of minority religions dropped - from about 14% in 1947<ref>Kosinski, Leszek A.; Elahi, K. Maudood, eds. (2012). Population Redistribution and Development in South Asia. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 136. ISBN 9780706908374.</ref> to 3.52% in 2017,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> the number of multiple-faith holidays also dropped.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The main cause of the decline of the population minorities is the separation of Bangladesh, where the ratio of the non-Muslim to the toal populace was high.