Government announces public holiday on Feb 19

The Sindh government has declared a public holiday on February 19 to mark the annual Urs celebrations of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.

A notification issued by the Department of Services, General Administration & Coordination confirmed that all public and private offices across the province, including autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, and local councils under Sindh’s jurisdiction, will remain closed on Wednesday, except for essential services.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has also announced a holiday on February 19, with the SHC and its subordinate courts closed to observe Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s Urs.

The Urs celebrations will commence on Monday and continue for three days, featuring traditional events like Dhamal, Qawwali, and Sufi music recitals.

To accommodate devotees traveling to Sehwan Sharif for the celebrations, Pakistan Railways will run two special trains. The first train will depart Faisalabad at 10:00 pm on Friday, February 14, arriving at Sehwan Sharif on Saturday at 2:15 pm, passing through Shurkot, Lodhran, Rohri, and Dadu. The second train will leave Lahore at 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 15, reaching Sehwan Sharif on Sunday at 9:00 am.

For the return journey, the Faisalabad-bound train will depart Sehwan at 4:00 pm on February 20, arriving the next day at 9:00 am, while the Lahore-bound train will depart at 5:00 pm, reaching the next day at 11:30 am.