Date in Pakistan: Today, Time Zone & Calendar
The current date in Pakistan — Gregorian, Hijri, time zone, and public holidays.
Last updated: 11 October 2026
The Essentials
Date in Pakistan at a Glance
The date in four facts.
Right Now
Today’s Date in Pakistan
The definitive answer.
Sunday, 11 October 2026 — Pakistan Standard Time (PKT). Hijri: 28 Rabi al-Thani 1448 (most calendars; Pakistan’s official announcement follows the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee’s moon sighting, so it can differ by a day). Week 41 of 2026. Day 284 of the year — 81 days remain. Season: autumn — smog season in the plains, golden in the north. Tomorrow is Monday, 12 October — the working week begins across the country.
UTC+5
Pakistan’s Time Zone
PKT, always.
Pakistan Standard Time (PKT) = UTC+5 — five hours ahead of GMT, no daylight saving (tried briefly, abandoned). Differences: 30 minutes behind India (IST = UTC+5:30); 1 hour behind China; 4–5 hours ahead of the UK (depending on BST); 9–10 hours ahead of US Eastern. Business hours: roughly 9am–5pm PKT, Monday–Friday (some offices Saturday morning).
Why no DST? Pakistan experimented with daylight saving in 2002 and 2008–09 — advancing clocks an hour in summer to save energy. Both attempts were abandoned after public confusion and minimal savings: near the equator’s edge, Pakistan’s daylight varies little enough that the disruption outweighed the benefit. PKT has been fixed at UTC+5 ever since.
1448 AH
The Hijri Calendar
The Islamic date.
Pakistan officially uses both calendars: the Gregorian for civil life, the Hijri (Islamic) for religious observance. Months begin with the sighted crescent — the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (chaired by the religious affairs ministry) announces each month. Key 1448 dates: Ramadan begins ~18 February 2026 (already observed); Eid al-Fitr ~20 March; Eid al-Adha ~27 May. Note: online converters can be a day off — the Committee’s word is final in Pakistan.
The twelve Hijri months — Muharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani (the current month), Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Akhirah, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah — alternate 29 and 30 days by moon sighting. Rabi al-Thani is the fourth month; it follows the Prophet’s birthday month (Rabi al-Awwal) and precedes the sacred months’ run-up to Ramadan. In Pakistan, government notifications, court documents and nikah registrations routinely carry both dates — a dual-dating habit foreigners notice immediately.
2026
Public Holidays 2026
The year’s days off.
| Date 2026 | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 5 February | Kashmir Solidarity Day |
| 23 March | Pakistan Day |
| 20 March* | Eid al-Fitr (3 days, moon-dependent) |
| 1 May | Labour Day |
| 27 May* | Eid al-Adha (3 days, moon-dependent) |
| 14 August | Independence Day |
| 6 September | Defence Day |
| 9 November | Iqbal Day |
| 25 December | Quaid Day / Christmas |
* Islamic holidays shift ~11 days earlier each Gregorian year — dates are moon-sighting dependent.
The Rhythm
The Pakistani Week
When things happen.
Friday: the congregational prayer day — offices break ~12:30–2:30pm; the week’s spiritual anchor. Sunday: the main weekly holiday (since the 1990s shift from Friday). Saturday: half-day in many offices, full holiday in banks and multinationals. Markets: Sunday is the big bazaar day — Anarkali, Empress Market, Liberty at full bustle.
The Friday pause deserves explanation for outsiders: Pakistan’s working Friday is split by Jumu’ah — the congregational prayer around 12:30–1:30pm, when offices, shops and even government departments empty for the mosque. Don’t schedule important meetings for Friday midday; do accept that the afternoon runs slower. Ramadan reshapes the week entirely — office hours shrink, nights come alive, and the pre-dawn sehri and sunset iftar set the daily rhythm for a month.
The Format
Date Formats & History
How Pakistan writes dates.
Format: DD/MM/YYYY (11/10/2026) — the British convention; official documents add the Hijri date. History: Pakistan has used the Gregorian calendar since 1947; the Hijri calendar’s official status is constitutional (Islam as state religion). 1947: 14 August — Independence Day, the date every Pakistani knows. 1956: 23 March — the Republic (Pakistan Day).
A quirk of Pakistani dating: officialdom writes “11th October, 2026” with the ordinal, and Urdu-language documents use Urdu month names alongside — the same date rendered two ways on the same page. Digital Pakistan is standardising on ISO-style in databases, but the DD/MM/YYYY habit (11/10/2026) is universal in print. Warning for Americans: 11/10/2026 in Pakistan is 11 October, not 10 November — the month-day swap has caused real missed flights.
The Math
Converting Dates
Between the calendars.
Gregorian → Hijri: subtract 622, multiply by 33/32 — roughly (or use an online converter, then check the Ruet-e-Hilal announcement). PKT → your time: Pakistan is UTC+5 — add 5 to GMT. Ramadan 1448: began ~18 February 2026; Ramadan 1449: ~7 February 2027. Remember: Islamic months are 29 or 30 days — never 31.
Quick conversion examples: Pakistan’s Independence Day, 14 August 1947, was 27 Ramadan 1366 AH — the country was born in Ramadan, a fact Pakistanis note with pride. 1 January 2026 was 12 Rajab 1447. And today, 11 October 2026, is 28 Rabi al-Thani 1448 — the figure to use on any official correspondence dated today.
The Globe
Pakistan’s Time vs the World
When it’s noon in Islamabad.
| City | Time (when 12:00 PKT) |
|---|---|
| London | 07:00 (08:00 in BST) |
| Dubai | 11:00 |
| New Delhi | 12:30 |
| Beijing | 15:00 |
| New York | 02:00 (03:00 in EDT) |
| Sydney | 17:00 |
Calling Pakistan? Evenings PKT (6–9pm) catch Europe’s afternoon and America’s morning.
The Gulf corridor: Pakistan’s largest diaspora sits in Saudi Arabia and the UAE — just 1–2 hours behind PKT, which is why remittance calls and business with the Gulf run so smoothly. London is the other axis: the UK’s million-strong Pakistani community means afternoon PKT overlaps the London morning — the sweet spot for family calls is 4–6pm PKT (11am–1pm UK in winter).
The Moon Watchers
The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee
Who declares the month.
The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee — “moon-sighting committee” — meets on the 29th of each Islamic month to receive crescent sighting testimonies from across Pakistan. Its announcement sets Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha — the dates the whole country plans around. The committee’s word can differ from astronomical predictions (and from Saudi Arabia’s) by a day — which is why Pakistan’s Eid sometimes falls a day after the Gulf’s. 2026: the committee’s calls were closely watched as Ramadan (~18 Feb) and both Eids passed.
How the announcement works: the committee convenes at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Islamabad on the 29th evening, collecting testimony from zonal committees in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. Sighting claims are cross-checked against meteorological data — Pakistan now uses astronomical calculation as a check on testimony, not a replacement for it. The announcement typically comes after Maghrib prayers, and within the hour every news channel in the country carries it: chand nazar aa gaya — the moon has been sighted.
The Calendar
Key Dates in Pakistan’s Year
The dates that matter.
5 Feb: Kashmir Day · 23 Mar: Pakistan Day (military parade, Islamabad) · Ramadan: the holy month (~18 Feb–19 Mar 2026) · Eid al-Fitr: ~20 Mar 2026 · Eid al-Adha: ~27 May 2026 · 14 Aug: Independence Day — flag-hoisting, fireworks, green and white everywhere · 6 Sep: Defence Day · 9 Nov: Iqbal Day · 25 Dec: Quaid-e-Azam’s birthday (and Christmas) · 12 Rabi al-Awwal: Eid Milad-un-Nabi.
Looking ahead: the next big dates are 9 November (Iqbal Day) and 25 December (Quaid Day) — then the calendar turns to 2027, when Ramadan begins around 7 February and Eid al-Fitr falls near 9 March. Islamic dates move ~11 days earlier each Gregorian year, so every festival slowly cycles through the seasons — Ramadan will be a winter month again within a few years.
The Books
The Financial Year
July to June.
Pakistan’s fiscal year runs 1 July–30 June — hence “FY26” (July 2025–June 2026). The federal budget is presented in June (the 2026–27 budget came that month). Quarters: Q1 (Jul–Sep), Q2 (Oct–Dec), Q3 (Jan–Mar), Q4 (Apr–Jun). Why it matters: GDP growth, the IMF programme and every economic headline you’ll read is dated in fiscal years — FY26’s 3–3.7% growth projection is the current benchmark.
The budget ritual: the finance minister presents the federal budget in the National Assembly each June — traditionally with the famous briefcase — setting taxes and spending for the year starting 1 July. Provincial budgets follow within days. For businesses, the critical dates are 30 June (year-end closing) and the advance tax quarters (September, December, March, June). Miss a quarter and the penalties compound fast.
The Classroom
School Year Dates
The academic calendar.
Punjab/Sindh: the school year starts April (after March board exams); summer holidays June–August; winter break late December. KP/Balochistan (winter zone): long winter holidays, shorter summers. Board exams: matric (9th–10th) in March–April; intermediate (11th–12th) in May. Universities: semesters — fall (Sept–Jan), spring (Feb–Jun).
Exam season: the matric (March–April) and intermediate (May) board exams are national events — results in July–August decide university admissions, and the toppers’ names make the newspapers. CSS exams (for the civil service) run in February; MDCAT (medical college entry) in September. If you’re visiting Pakistan in March–May, expect study leave to empty the offices of every family with a teenager.
Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
What readers ask most — answered.
What is today’s date in Pakistan?
Sunday, 11 October 2026 (PKT).
What is Pakistan’s time zone?
PKT = UTC+5 — no daylight saving, year-round.
What is the Hijri date today?
28 Rabi al-Thani 1448 (per most calendars; Pakistan’s official date follows moon sighting).
Does Pakistan observe daylight saving?
No — PKT (UTC+5) all year.
When is the next public holiday?
9 November — Iqbal Day (then 25 December, Quaid Day).
What date format does Pakistan use?
DD/MM/YYYY — the British convention.
Feature Pakistan’s Reference Guides answer the everyday questions — verified.