Govt announces three-day public holiday

ISLAMABAD: A three-day public holiday has been declared in Islamabad and Rawalpindi ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting, scheduled for next week.

The holiday will be observed from October 14 to 16 in both cities to ensure the smooth organization of the 23rd SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG), according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Monday.

The decision aims to facilitate security arrangements and minimize disruptions during the high-level meeting.

In preparation for the summit, the federal government also announced the deployment of Pakistan Army personnel in Islamabad.

A notification issued on Friday confirmed that army troops would be stationed in the federal capital from October 5 to 17 to maintain law and order during the summit and the visits of VVIP delegations.

The notification specified that a "requisite strength" of the Pakistan Army will assist local authorities, with the exact deployment areas and the number of troops to be determined by Islamabad’s administration in coordination with relevant stakeholders.