MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has declared October 8, 2025, a public holiday to mark Youm-e-Istehkam wa Tajdeed-e-Ahd-e-Nau and to observe the 19th anniversary of the devastating October 8, 2005 earthquake—one of the deadliest in the region’s history.
According to a notification issued by the AJK Services and General Administration Department, all public and private educational institutions will remain closed on the day.
Earlier, the AJK government had released the list of public holidays for 2025 with the approval of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry. The notification stated that holidays would be observed on national, religious, and other special occasions throughout the year.
Across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the 19th anniversary of the 2005 earthquake will be observed with solemnity and respect as National Disaster Awareness Day, paying tribute to the martyrs and victims of the tragedy.
The day will begin with special prayers at Fajr in mosques across the state for the departed souls. It will be a gazetted holiday throughout AJK.
In Mirpur, the main ceremony will be held where Fateha Khawani will be offered for the martyrs. At 8:52 a.m., sirens will be sounded and two minutes of silence will be observed in remembrance of the victims, officials said.
Special events, including awareness walks, seminars, and symposiums, will also take place across AJK to honour those who lost their lives in the 2005 disaster, which claimed over 75,000 lives and left hundreds of thousands injured across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
