Every Pakistani law student, journalist and businessman eventually meets the same document: The Gazette of Pakistan. It looks dull — dense pages of notifications in small print — but it is the paper on which the state writes its decisions into law. This guide explains what the Gazette of Pakistan is and why it carries more weight than any press release.
Quick answer: The Gazette of Pakistan (سرکاری جریدہَ پاکستان) is the official gazette of the Government of Pakistan, published since 1948 by the Printing Corporation of Pakistan in Urdu and English. It records acts, ordinances, regulations, S.R.O.s, notifications, appointments and awards — and gazette publication is what gives many government decisions their legal effect.
In this guide
History: Since 1948
The Gazette of Pakistan was founded in 1948, in the first year of independence — the new state needed its own official journal, succeeding the colonial gazette system it inherited. It is owned by the Government of Pakistan and produced by the Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP): printed at the PCP Press (Islamabad/Karachi) and published by the Manager of Publications, Karachi. Every issue is headed “The Gazette of Pakistan — Published by Authority”, and each carries a registration number (Registered No. M-302). It has run continuously for over 75 years, in Urdu and English, from its headquarters in Islamabad.
What It Publishes
- Acts and ordinances — legislation passed by Parliament or promulgated by the President.
- S.R.O.s — Statutory Rules and Orders: the executive’s delegated legislation (tax notifications, import controls, standards, procedures), each with a serial S.R.O. number assigned by the PCP Press.
- Notifications and orders — formal government decisions, committee formations, administrative orders.
- Personnel matters — appointments, promotions, transfers, leaves, retirements.
- Awards — civil honours and decorations.
The Gazette is organised into numbered parts (Part II carries statutory notifications), with Extraordinary issues printed on demand for urgent matters. For how to actually locate a notification, see our finder guide.
Why “Published by Authority” Matters
Those three words are the whole point. A minister’s tweet announces; a PID press release informs; but the Gazette entry is the citable, authoritative record — the version courts accept, the version businesses rely on, the version historians quote. When an S.R.O. changes a tax rate, the rate changes because the Gazette says so, on the effective date the notification states. The Gazette is the state speaking on the record, with legal consequences.
Gazette vs News: The Legal Difference
This distinction catches people out constantly. News reports about a government decision — “FBR raises tax on X” — are not the decision. The decision is the S.R.O. with its number, date and effective date, published in the Gazette. Effects follow the document, not the headline: a notification signed in March but reported in October takes effect per its own stated date. Anyone acting on a forwarded screenshot instead of the Gazette text — importers, taxpayers, lawyers — is acting on hearsay. The Gazette is the primary source; everything else is commentary.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Gazette of Pakistan founded?
1948 — a year after independence, succeeding the colonial gazette tradition.
Who prints the Gazette of Pakistan?
The Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP) — printed at its press, published by the Manager of Publications, Karachi.
Is the Gazette of Pakistan available online?
Ministries and divisions publish their notifications on their own websites (e.g. FBR’s SRO pages, the Cabinet Division’s notification listings); the Gazette text itself is the official record behind those postings.
