ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, the Cabinet Division announced that November 9 will be a national public holiday in Pakistan to honor Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the country’s national poet.
Dr. Iqbal, born in Sialkot on November 9, 1877, was a renowned poet, philosopher, and scholar. He shaped the ideology of Pakistan with his concept of the two-nation theory. In 1930, he presented this idea at the Muslim League session in Allahabad, which eventually led to the creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
Iqbal Day was a public holiday for many years. However, the Interior Ministry removed it from the holiday list in a circular issued on November 4, 2015, without offering an explanation. In 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration restored the holiday.
The latest notification states, “Saturday, November 9, 2024, will be observed as a public holiday nationwide on the occasion of Allama Iqbal Day, in accordance with Cabinet Division’s circular No. 10-02/2023-MM-II dated December 20, 2023.”
Visit Pakistan Updates for more information.
