Govt announces public holidays on July 16-17

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday announced a two-day public holiday for the 9th and 10th of Muharram.

“[…] the Prime Minister is pleased to declare 16th and 17th July, 2024 (Tuesday and Wednesday) as public holidays on the occasion of Ashura (9th & 10th Moharram 1446 AH),” a notification issued by the Cabinet Division stated.

Ashura will be observed in Pakistan on July 17 (Wednesday) and Muslims across the globe will observe the religious occasion with grief and sorrow.

The federal government on Monday approved the deployment of armed forces across the country to ensure security during the month of Muharram, ARY News reported.

The move comes on the request of the authorities in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to deploy military to control the law and order situation.

The Centre, under Article 245 of the Constitution, authorised the “deployment of army troops/assets and civil armed forces troops/assets” to ensure peace.

The Ministry of Interior has clarified that the deployment of the army will be based on the ground situation and that the provinces will have the authority to determine the deployment locations.

The federal ministry of interior has issued orders for the army deployment, stating that the forces will be deployed to assist the civil administration.