The Karachi administration has announced a public holiday on April 23 (Tuesday) in view of the visit of foreign dignitaries and to avoid inconvenience to the general public.

“All the government and private offices, educational institutions (public/private), shall remain closed except the essential services and officials involved in emergency duties,” city’s commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi said in a notification on Sunday.

Although it was not mentioned in the notification, the decision was likely taken because of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s upcoming visit to Pakistan. It is scheduled from April 22 to April 24.

The Iranian president would also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with the provincial leadership, according to a statement from the Foreign Office issued earlier in the day.

“The two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties and enhance cooperation in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts,” the FO said.

“Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong bilateral ties anchored in history, culture and religion. This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations,” it said.

Earlier this month, President Asif Ali Zardari in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart had underlined the need for enhancing the “exchange of information to overcome the security challenges” being faced by both countries.

Zardari assured his Iranian counterpart that Pakistan would continue to work with Iran in all areas of mutual interest to further boost bilateral cooperation.

Pakistan is counting on a joint gas project with Iran to solve a long-running power crisis that has sapped its economic growth.

A $7.5-billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline intended to feed Pakistani power plants was inaugurated with great fanfare in March 2013.

But the project immediately stagnated following international sanctions on Iran.

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Tehran has built its own section of the 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) pipeline, which should eventually link its South Pars gas fields to Nawabshah, near Karachi.

In February, the outgoing caretaker government approved the construction of an 80-kilometer section of the pipeline, primarily to avoid the payment of billions of dollars in penalties to Iran due to years of delays.

Washington has warned that Pakistan could face US sanctions, saying it does not support the pipeline going forward.