SBP Announces Banks To Remain Open On May 8

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that all banks in the country would remain open on Saturday, May 8.

In a statement, the SBP said that the decision to keep the bank open on Saturday was taken due to the Eid holidays in the country from May 10 to 15.

The statement said that all banks / MFBs will be open on Saturday, May 8, 2021, from 9 am to 2 pm without any break.

It may be recalled that on April 13, the SBP had announced the working hours of the bank for the month of Ramadan from 10 am to 4 pm, which included a prayer break from 2 pm to 2 pm.

However, on April 29, the SBP decided to stop the spread of Corona at the National Command and Operations Center by changing the working hours of banks from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Were done by

On Friday, bank hours were open to the public from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., while office hours were from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A day earlier, the Eid holidays were announced across the country from May 10 to May 15 in a re-notification issued by the Interior Ministry on the recommendation of the National Command Operations Center and with the permission of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Earlier last week, the NCOC announced an Eid-ul-Fitr holiday from May 10 to 15 and a strategy to keep people at home and restrict movement nationally.

The NCOC said that grocery stores, medical stores, medical facilities/vaccination centers, fruit and vegetable and meat shops, bakeries, petrol pumps, buying or ordering food, utility services (gas, electric phones) and All business centres except media etc. will be closed.

The statement said that the sale of moon night markets including henna, jewellery, clothes and other items would also be banned.

Regarding tourism, it was informed that there will be a complete ban on tourism for locals and non-locals and resorts, entertainment venues, public parks, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants will be closed.

The NCOC had said that 50 per cent passengers would be allowed in private vehicles, taxis, rickshaws and inter-provincial, inter-city and inter-city transport would be banned.

Additional trains will run until May 7 to distribute passenger volume ahead of Eid, after which 70 per cent capacity will be restored with SOPs.

In addition, the media was directed to broadcast special programs, movies, dramas and entertainment shows during the Eid holidays so that the people could stay at home while ensuring uninterrupted power supply during the Eid holidays.

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