LAHORE: The Punjab government has planned to provide relief to its government employees and pensioners by releasing their salaries and pensions before Eid-ul-Fitr 2026. The Punjab government’s finance department has issued a notification regarding this.
As per the notification issued by the finance department of the provincial government of Punjab, Muslim government employees will receive their salaries on the 16th of March 2026. The pensioners will also receive their pensions on the same date so that retired government employees can purchase the things they need before Eid-ul-Fitr 2026.
Meanwhile, Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to be celebrated on March 21, 2026, across the country. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the new moon of Shawwal 1447 Hijri will be born on March 19, 2026, at 6:23 AM (PST). However, since the moon will be only 12-13 hours old at that time, the chances of sighting it are low, which means Eid is likely to fall on March 21.
Punjab govt made important changes in pension laws
Similarly, important amendments have been made in the pension laws of government employees, and a new condition has been set for voluntary retirement, after a notification issued by the Punjab Finance Department in Lahore.
Under the amendments, now any government employee will be able to retire voluntarily if their government service has completed 25 years and their age is at least 55 years. Retirement will be granted based on whichever of these two conditions is fulfilled last; that is, if 25 years of service were completed earlier, but the age is 53, then he will have to wait until he reaches 55 years of age.
If an employee is forcibly retired for any reason, such an employee will be able to get pension benefits only if their minimum service base has been completed. The Punjab government has withdrawn the old notifications of April 22 and June 19, 2025, which allowed those who rejoined the job after retirement to get both salary and pension.
If a retired employee now works in a government job again, he will have to choose between a pension or salary.
