List of official holidays for federal government of Pakistan as of 2023
Federal Government of Pakistan Cabinet Division has published the complete list of all the public and optional holidays which will be mentioned throughout the whole of Pakistan during 2023.
According to the Official Notice issued on the Cabinet Division Official website, there will be a total of 16 public holidays in 2023. The first public holiday in 2023 will be observed on 5 February on the occasion of Kashmir Day.
In 2023, there will be extended weekends as public holidays will be Sunday and Friday. Employees and students will have to make long weekends due to weekends on Friday and Saturday.
List of Public Holidays for 2023
The Public and Optional Holidays involving festivals of Muslims and Minorities in Pakistan for the Calendar Year 2023 would be as under.
| Name of Occasion | Days | Dates during year 2023 | |
| 1 | Kashmir Day | Sunday | 5th February 2023 |
| 2 | Pakistan Day | Thursday | 23rd March 2023 |
| 3* | Eid-ul-Fitr,(1st Shawl, 1444 AH) | Saturday, Sunday, Monday | 22, 23, 24 April 2023 |
| 4 | Labor Day | Monday | 1St May 2023 |
| 5* | Eid-ul-Azha, (10th Zil Haj 1444 AH) | Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 29, 30 June 2023 and 1st July 2023 |
| 6* | Ashura (9th & 10th Moharram 1445 A.H.) | Thursday & Friday | 27th and 28th July 2023 |
| 7 | Independence Day | Monday | 14th August 2023 |
| 8* | EID Milad-un-Nabi (12th Rabi-ul- Awwal 1445 A.H) | Thursday | 28th September 2023 |
| 9 | A llama Iqbal Day | Thursday | 9th November 2023 |
| 10 | Quaid-e-Azam Day / Christmas | Monday | 25th December 2023 |
| 11 | Day after Christmas | Tuesday |
List of Bank Holidays for 2023
The following will be Bank Holidays. All the same, on these days the Banks/DFIs/MFBs will remain closed to the public but NOT to their employees.
| Sr.# | Day/ Date |
| 1 | 2nd January 2023 (Monday) |
| 2* | 22nd March 2023 (Wednesday) corresponding to 1st Ramadan 1444 A.H. for deduction of Zakat (subject to appearance of moon) |
| 3 | 3rd July 2023 (Monday) |
List of Optional Holidays for 2023
Optional Holidays are not mandatory, but the government can decide to declare it as a public holiday or not counting upon the situations.
| Sr.# | Name of Occasion | Days | Dates during year 2023 |
| 1 | New Year Day | Sunday | 1st January 2023 |
| 2 | Basant Punchami | Thursday | 26th January 2023 |
| 3 | Shivaratri | Saturday | 18th February 2023 |
| 4* | Shab-e-Meraj (27’h Rajab 1444 A.H) | Saturday | 18th February 2023 |
| 5 | Holi | Monday | 6th March 2023 |
| 6 | Dulhandi | Tuesday | 7th March 2023 |
| 7* | Shab-e-Barat (15th Shaban 1444 A.H) | Wednesday | 8th March, 2023 |
| 8 | Good Friday | Friday | 7th April, 2023 |
| 9 | Day After Easter Sunday | Monday | 10th April, 2023 |
| 10 | Baisakhi | Friday | 14th April, 2023 |
| 11 | Eid-e-Rizwan (Bahai’s Community only) | Friday | 21st April 2023 |
| 12 | Buddha Purnima | Friday | 7th July, 2023 |
| 13 | Nauroze (Parsi’s New Year’s Day) | Wednesday | 16th August 2023 |
| 14 | Birthday of Lord Zoroaster (Khordad Sal) | Monday | 21st August 2023 |
| 15* | Chehlum (20’h Safar 1445 AH) | Wednesday | 6th September 2023 |
| 16 | Janam Ashtami | Thursday | 7th September 2023 |
| 17 | Durga Puja | Monday | 23rd October 2023 |
| 18 | Dussehra | Tuesday | 24th October 2023 |
| 19* | Giyarvee Shareef (11th Rabi- us-Sani 1445 A.H) | Friday | 27th October 2023 |
| 20 | Birthday of Guru Valmik Swami Ji | Saturday | 28th October 2023 |
| 21 | Diwali | Sunday | 12th November 2023 |
| 22 | Guru Nanak Dev Jee Birthday | Monday | 27th November 2023 |
Government servants hoping to avail themselves of Optional Holidays shall take prior permission of the Head of Office concerned, and no Government Servant shall be allowed more than one an optional holiday for Muslims can also be a mandatory holiday for non-Muslims.
The grant of this concession should not result in any interruption of work. In the case of Muslim optional holidays, the number of persons countenanced to avail optional holidays should be regulated in a manner so that capable staff is available for the proper period of time of the work. The optional holidays are NGO and may be allowed at the discretion of the Head of Office, supplied that work does not suffer.