Govt restores Saturday as weekly holiday with immediate effect

The government on Wednesday restored Saturday as a weekly holiday with immediate effect, Aaj News reported.

According to the new schedule, federal government offices will operate from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday with a prayer break from 1pm to 1:30pm.

On Friday, the offices will observe the same timings with a prayer break from 12:30pm till 2:30pm.

Govt restores Saturday holiday in government offices

On Tuesday, the government decided to restore weekly days off on Saturdays in government offices amid the rising prices of petroleum products.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During the meeting, the Power Division also presented a summary for the closure of markets by 7pm but no decision was made on it.

After assuming office, PM Shehbaz had said that government offices will only shut for one day in the week instead of two, and will open at 8am instead of 10 am.

Earlier, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had suggested two holidays a week to overcome the energy crisis.

He said this would reduce traffic on roads, save oil and electricity and promote a "culture of austerity".