Interior ministry declines declaring November 9 public holiday

The notifications are fake, says spokesperson

KARACHI: The Ministry of Interior has declined declaring November 9 a public holiday on account of Iqbal Day.

Earlier, notifications reportedly issued by the interior ministry on Tuesday made rounds on social media, saying the federal government had decided to declare Nov 9 a public holiday.

However, shortly after the 'fake' notification went viral, the interior ministry denied issuing any such memo. "We have not issued any notification,” an interior ministry spokesperson told The Express Tribune. “The notifications dated November 4 and November 7 are both fake."



Iqbal day is celebrated every year as a tribute to poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who was born on Nov 9, 1877 in Sialkot.

The spokesperson added it was the provincial government’s prerogative to announce a holiday or not.

Taking notice of the 'fake' notifications, the FIA ordered a probe into the matter. “Directives have been issued to the cyber crime wing to investigate the fake notifications,” the agency's spokesperson said.

Confusion prevailed in government departments after Sindh CM House spokesperson posted a notification on an official Whatsapp group informing reporters about the federal government’s decision to observe a public holiday on Nov 9.

Earlier, the Sindh government declared that all public and private schools across the province would remain closed on Wednesday on account of Iqbal Day. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government also announced a public holiday.



Last year, the government had abolished the public holiday on Iqbal Day. However, despite the order, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government announced a public holiday.