Sindh government workers plan 'extended Eid holidays'

Most Sindh government officials, who live in rural areas of the province, are planning to enjoy 'Eid holidays' between August 18 and August 26. Following the federal government's announcement, the Sindh government also announced three-day (August 20, 21 and 22) Eid holidays. Most of the officials who talked to this correspondent said that they were planning to go on "extended holidays".
Ghulam Murtaza, an officer working in the Livestock and Fisheries Department said that officially sanctioned holidays start from Monday, August 20 and last till Wednesday, August 22, while August 18 and 19 (Saturday and Sunday) are weekly off days. He said that he originally belonged to Jacobabad and he would go to his native town to celebrate Eidul Fitr, adding that he could not return on August 23 (Thursday) to resume his duties for just two days, adding that August 25 and 26 were again Saturday and Sunday, weekly offs.
He said that most officers and employees from other districts of the province were planning to resume their duties on August 27 (Monday). Munawar Mangi, an official of the Education and Literacy department, who hails from Sukkur, said that his wife had already informed him that she would "not let him come back to Karachi on Thursday (August 23)". He said that his wife wanted to "spend more time with her family members living in Sukkur and elsewhere in the province".
He said that he and his family were going back to Sukkur after a year so they would get "maximum benefits out of the official Eid-holidays". Iqbal Mallah, a Naib Qasid working in the Tourism department told Business Recorder that he had already sent his family to Dadu (his native town) and he would go there on August 18 (Saturday).
He said that his "sahib" had told him that he would return on Monday, August 26, so he would "also come back the same day". Saleem Mehar, who works as an Assistant in the Auqaf department, said that he knew several of his colleagues and friends working in various government departments had also planned to come back to Karachi on August 25 (Sunday).
He said that he is a low-grade employee of the provincial government, but he was relaxed because his officers who also rejoin their offices on August 26 (Monday). He said: "This is my ninth year in government job. I am used to celebrate Eid holidays in accordance with the wishes of the vast majority of Sindh government officers." Most government employees were also planning to take undue advantage of government sanctioned Eid holidays, Saleem maintained.