The federal government has declared Monday, 9 November a public holiday across the country on the occasion of Iqbal Day, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday.
The notification said: Monday, Nov 9, shall be a public holiday throughout the country on the occasion of Allama Iqbal Day. The wording of the notification is direct, and it applies the holiday to the whole country.
The notification referred to a circular issued by the Cabinet Division in January listing public and optional holidays for 2026. Allama Iqbal Day is number ten of twelve public holidays in that circular, and the notification gives effect to that listing for 9 November.
The Punjab government also declared 9 November a public holiday in the province to mark the 149th birth anniversary of Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan. The Punjab declaration adds a provincial notification alongside the federal one.
The Punjab Services and General Administration Department notification said 9 November 2026, Monday, shall be observed as a public holiday in the province. That wording mirrors the federal notification, applying the holiday at provincial level.
The Sindh government announced on Wednesday that all public and private schools across the province would remain closed on 9 November. The Sindh announcement, made a day before the federal notification, covers schools in the province, both public and private.
The State Bank of Pakistan has confirmed that banks will remain closed on 9 November, under BPRD Circular Letter No. 23 of 2026, dated 3 November. The central bank’s confirmation means that banking services will be suspended for the day, in line with the public holiday.
For people with a Saturday to Sunday weekend, the holiday makes three consecutive days off, from 7 to 9 November, with normal activities resuming on Tuesday, 10 November. The Monday holiday, following the weekend, creates that three-day break.
Iqbal Day is observed every year on 9 November to commemorate the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who was born in Sialkot on 9 November 1877. The date of his birth is the reason for the observance, and the holiday marks that anniversary each year.
This year marks the 149th birth anniversary, as noted in the Punjab government’s declaration. The anniversary number reflects the passage of time since Iqbal’s birth in Sialkot in 1877.
The holiday was on the national calendar for decades, was cancelled in November 2015, and was restored in 2022 by the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. That history shows that the holiday has not always been observed, and that its restoration in 2022 returned it to the calendar after a period of cancellation.
Diwali also falls on 9 November 2026 as an optional holiday for Hindu employees. The coincidence of the two observances on the same day means that Hindu employees have an optional holiday for Diwali alongside the public holiday for Iqbal Day.
The federal notification, issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday, is the source for the countrywide holiday. The Punjab notification, from the Services and General Administration Department, confirms the holiday in that province, and the Sindh announcement covers schools in that province.
The State Bank’s circular, BPRD Circular Letter No. 23 of 2026, dated 3 November, confirms the closure of banks. The circular was issued before the federal notification, and it sets out the banking position for the day.
Taken together, the announcements describe a public holiday that applies across the country, with provincial confirmations in Punjab and a schools closure in Sindh, and with banks closed under the State Bank’s circular.
The three-day break, from Saturday 7 November through Monday 9 November, with a resumption on Tuesday 10 November, is the practical effect for those on a Saturday to Sunday weekend. The holiday, falling on a Monday, extends the weekend by a day.
The observance of Iqbal Day on 9 November, commemorating the birth of Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Sialkot in 1877, is the occasion for the holiday. The 149th birth anniversary is the milestone marked this year, and the holiday was restored in 2022 after its cancellation in 2015.
Source: The Express Tribune, Pakistan Today
