No more two-day weekends

Federal govt announces public offices to resume work on Saturdays end of November.

ISLAMABAD: Public offices will be resuming work on Saturdays after the federal government announced the end of two weekly holidays, on Tuesday. Civil servants will resume work on Saturdays at the end of November.

The decision, approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was taken after a consensus between the provinces.

The government had previously announced two weekly holidays for public offices in April, after announcing a wide-ranging strategy aimed at conserving and generating more electricity to minimise a widening gap between demand and supply. The days off were again extended in July till October 31 after an inter-provincial ministerial meeting.

Electricity consumption in Pakistan during winters is far lower as compared to the summer months. Earlier, Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) announced an end to loadshedding, saying the electricity shortfall has been covered.