The formal advent of the Spring season, the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz was celebrated on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the Iranian calendar in Pakistan like in other parts of the globe.

Nowruz is a spring festival and New Year celebration named after the Persian word meaning “new day.” It is celebrated all over Asia with a variety of local traditions.

Nowruz is a spring festival celebrated by the Parsi community in Iran, Afghanistan, the Central Asian states and parts of Pakistan.

Students, professionals and families from Gilgit-Baltistan, celebrated the Persian New Year Nowruz in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi with simplicity due to the Holy Month of Ramazan.

People pray for a successful and prosperous year ahead.

Nowruz has been added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2009, while the United Nations through its resolution number 64/253 officially recognized 21st March as International Nowruz Day in 2010.

Nowruz is a joint cultural heritage of the world, which promotes coexistence, peace and harmony, as it is celebrated by people of different faiths, ethnicities, nationalities and political orientations.