Islamabad, May 21, 2025: The federal government has announced a May 28 public holiday to mark the historic day known as Youm-e-Takbeer when Pakistan established itself as a nuclear power.
The nation observes ‘Youm-e-Takbeer’ (the day of greatness) to commemorate the historic nuclear tests carried out on May 28, 1998, in Chaghi, Balochistan, which made Pakistan the first Muslim country and the seventh in the world to develop nuclear weapons.
The nuclear explosions were conducted as a self-defense measure in a response to India’s nuclear bomb tests on May 11 and 13 of the same year at Pokhran in Rajhasthan state of India.
READ MORE: Youm-e-Takbeer: Will Pakistan Declare May 28 a Public Holiday?
Last year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif officially announced May 28, known as a national holiday to honour this milestone in the country’s history.
READ MORE: Youm-e-Takbeer symbolizes collective effort of all facets of national power: PM
He emphasized that May 28 symbolizes the day when then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the armed forces took bold measures to solidify Pakistan’s sovereignty.
He also said it is a tribute to former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the scientists who played a vital role in initiating and sustaining Pakistan’s nuclear program.
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