The commercial banks in Pakistan will remain closed from Thursday, June 29 till Sunday, July 2 on the occasion of Eid ul Azha.

The State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday announced that the central bank will remain closed from Thursday, June 29 to Friday, June 30.

However, it will remain closed till July 2, as the two Eid holidays will be followed by the weekend, Saturday and Sunday.

On June 20, the government had also announced holidays for the upcoming Eid ul Azha. The notification said that offices working five days a week will get the first two days off for Eid - June 29 and June 30.

Meanwhile, offices working six days a week will get an additional day off on July 1, which falls on Saturday.

The Zilhaj moon was sighted, hence Eidul Azha will fall on Thursday, June 29, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee said on June 19.

“Thank God, the weather was clear in most areas of Pakistan but cloudy in some. And testimony of the moon being sighted was received from different areas, including Islamabad, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Khanpur, Ghotki, Bahawalnagar, Karachi, Peshawar, and other locations,” committee chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said at a press conference in Islamabad.

The Ruet body had met under the chairmanship of Azad at the Kohsar Complex, Pak Secretariat in the federal capital for the Shawwal moon sighting. Separate meetings of the zonal and district Ruet-i-Hilal committees were also held in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta.