Federal govt announces Eid-ul-Azha holidays

ISLAMABAD: Federal government on Thursday announced a three-day official holiday in the country on the occasion of Eid ul Azha amid coronavirus pandemic, ARY NEWS reported.

The federal government has announced holidays on the first three days of the Eid ul Azha including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced fewer holidays on the festive occasion, keeping in view the lockdown situation in the country that has already caused suffering for the daily-wage workers and labour class besides inflicting losses to other businesses.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government had planned a single holiday on Eid ul Azha earlier in order to restrict unnecessary movement on the festive occasion that could lead to the spread of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed to the masses to celebrate upcoming Eid ul Azha with simplicity and not to be careless and brush aside the government-defined health guidelines to keep coronavirus at bay.

Speaking to the media after inaugurating Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Center in the capital on July 09, the prime minister stressed that people should not throw caution to the wind this Eid as they did on Eidul Fitr, which, according to him, lead to a rapid increase in the number of cases, piling pressure on hospitals and healthcare workers.

“Eid is coming, we should not do what we did the previous Eid,” the prime minister emphasized, adding the country saw a surge in coronavirus cases following Eidul Fitr as the disease peaked.

He said the Covid-19 curve is flattening because of the government’s steps and provinces’ cooperation.