August 12, 13, 14 and 15 will be observed as holidays in Pakistan for the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Adha, the second of the year’s two major Islamic festivals, the government announced on Wednesday.
Eid ul-Adha commemorates the Qur’anic story of the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah before Allah replaced the son with a ram to be sacrificed instead.
Last month, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry announced that both Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha would be decided every year based on a ‘scientific’ lunar calendar, launched by the ministry in June in order to end controversies over the sighting of the moon for Islamic months. According to the ministry’s calendar, Eid ul-Adha this year will fall on Monday, August 12.
According to a Ministry of Interior notification, Saturday, August 17, will be a working day in Pakistan.
The science ministry’s calendar, which can be accessed through Pakistan’s first official moon-sighting website and a mobile application, specifies determined dates for all major Islamic festivals in the country.
Pakistan, a Muslim majority country of 208 million people, is the sixth most populous country in the world and has the second-largest Muslim population after Indonesia.
Pakistan government announces Eid ul-Adha holidays from August 12-15
Pakistan government announces Eid ul-Adha holidays from August 12-15
- August 17th, Saturday, will be a working day in Pakistan
- Dates for both Eids will be decided in Pakistan based on a ‘scientific’ lunar calendar launched by the science ministry in June
Pakistan drops 8,000 MW power procurement, claims $17 billion savings amid IMF-driven reforms
- Government says decision taken “on merit” as it seeks to cut losses, circular debt, ease consumer pressure
- Power minister says losses fell from $2.1 billion to $1.4 billion, circular debt dropped by $2.8 billion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has abandoned plans to procure around 8,000 megawatts of expensive electricity, the power minister said on Sunday, adding that the decision was taken “purely on merit” and would save about $17 billion.
The power sector has long been a major source of Pakistan’s fiscal stress, driven by surplus generation capacity, costly contracts and mounting circular debt. Reforming electricity pricing, reducing losses and limiting new liabilities are central conditions under an ongoing $7 billion IMF program approved in 2024.
Pakistan has historically contracted more power generation than it consumes, forcing the government to make large capacity payments even for unused electricity. These obligations have contributed to rising tariffs, budgetary pressure and repeated IMF bailouts over the past two decades.
“The government has abandoned the procurement of around 8000 megawatts of expensive electricity purely on merit, which will likely to save 17 billion dollars,” Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
He said the federal government was also absorbing losses incurred by power distribution companies rather than passing them on to consumers.
The minister said the government’s reform drive was already showing results, with losses reduced from Rs586 billion ($2.1 billion) to Rs393 billion ($1.4 billion), while circular debt declined by Rs780 billion ($2.8 billion) last year. Recoveries, he added, had improved by Rs183 billion ($660 million).
Leghari said electricity tariffs had been reduced by 20 percent at the national level over the past two years and expressed confidence that prices would be aligned with international levels within the next 18 months.
Power sector reform has been one of the most politically sensitive elements of Pakistan’s IMF-backed adjustment program, with higher tariffs and tighter enforcement weighing on households and industry. The government says cutting losses, improving recoveries and avoiding costly new capacity are essential to stabilizing public finances and restoring investor confidence.
