Pakistan(National Times)- The federal government on Monday notified the schedule of public and optional holidays for the calendar year 2025 on the days of national significance, festivals of Muslims and minorities. As 2024 draws to a close, the Cabinet Division issued a notification containing the complete list of holidays to be observed next year. For Muslim festivals, it stated, the dates of holidays will be based on anticipated dates and subjected to appearance of moon for which a separate notification will be issued by the division. Subsequently, no optional holiday shall be granted to any government servant without prior permission of the head of the concerned organisation. Moreover, no government official would be granted more than one optional holiday in the case of Muslims and three optional holidays for non-Muslims in a calendar year. “The grant of this concession should not result in any dislocation of work,” it added. In the case of Muslim optional holidays, the number of persons permitted to avail optional holidays should be regulated in a manner so that adequate staff is available for proper continuance of the work, the notification stated. “The optional holidays are denominational and may be allowed at the discretion of the head of the organisation, provided that work does not suffer,” adding: “A government servant should not ordinarily be refused an optional holiday that is of religious significance.”