Sindh cuts Eid ul Adha 2026 holidays to three days

KARACHI: The Sindh government has revised its Eid ul Adha 2026 holiday schedule, reducing the break from four days to three through a corrigendum issued on May 23.

Under the revised notification, May 26, 27 and 28, 2026, corresponding to 9th, 10th and 11th Zil Hajj, 1447 AH, will be observed as public holidays across the province on the occasion of Eid ul Adha.

The corrigendum applies to all government offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations and local councils working under the administrative control of the Sindh government.

The notification, however, said that essential services would remain exempt from the holiday schedule. It also stated that departments and offices involved in preparations for the 2026-27 budget would not fall under the public holiday arrangement.

In addition, the revised order said that Friday, May 29, corresponding to 12th Zil Hajj, would be observed as a work-from-home day.

The latest decision replaces an earlier order issued on Friday under which the provincial government had announced Eid ul Adha holidays from May 26 to May 29. With the corrigendum, the total number of holidays has been brought down from four days to three.

The updated Sindh holiday schedule now matches the federal government’s previously announced Eid ul Adha holidays for May 26, 27 and 28.

Moon sighting and Eid date

Pakistan will observe Eid ul Adha on May 27 after the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee announced on May 17 that the Zilhaj moon had been sighted.

The announcement came after a meeting of the committee at the Pakistan Meteorological Department in Karachi.

Occasion and observance

Eid ul Adha is also known as the Feast of Sacrifice and marks the Qur'anic account of Prophet Ibrahim’s (PBUH) willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah, before the sacrifice was divinely replaced with a ram.

The religious festival is observed with Eid prayers, family gatherings and charitable acts. It also includes the ritual sacrifice of livestock, with meat distributed among relatives, friends and people in need.

The corrigendum specifically stated the revised holiday dates as 26th, 27th, and 28th May, 2026. It also said that Friday, May 29, would not be treated as a public holiday but instead shall be observed as Work From Home.

The move brings the province’s holiday plan in line with the federal schedule after the earlier Sindh notification had provided for a longer break.