Commercial banks across Pakistan are closing for at least four days beginning March 23.

Pakistan Day is celebrated on March 23rd every year and it is a gazetted holiday across the country. So, banks will remain closed on Thursday (tomorrow).

The next day, March 24, has been declared as a Bank Holiday by the State Bank of Pakistan for Zakat deduction.

On the Zakat deduction day, which is usually observed on the first of Ramazan, commercial banks stop public dealing.

“All banks / DFIs / MFBs shall, therefore, remain closed for public dealing on the [March 24]. However, all employees of the banks / DFIs / MFBs will attend the office on Bank Holiday treating it as a normal working day (except for public dealing),” a notification issued by the central bank on Tuesday said.

The government has fixed Nisab for Zakat deduction from saving and profit and loss-sharing bank accounts for the current lunar year at Rs103,159.

The weekend falls on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26. So, banks will open for public dealing only on Monday, March 27.

The central bank usually instructs commercial banks to ensure that their ATMs remain operational throughout the holidays and have enough cash.