Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that Lahore will observe a public holiday on Thursday September 7th 2023 on account of the annual Urs (death anniversary) of Data Ganj Bakhsh Syed Ali Hajwari (RA).
Data Ganj Bakhsh was an 11th-century Sunni Muslim mystic, theologian, and preacher from the Ghaznavid Empire, who became famous for composing the Kashf al-maḥjūb (lit. 'Unveiling of the Hidden'), which is considered the "earliest formal treatise" on Sufism in Persian.
Ali Hujwiri known reverentially as Data Gunj Bakhsh, is venerated as the main wali of Lahore, Pakistan by the traditional Sunni Muslims of the area. He is one of the most widely venerated saints in the entire South Asia, and his tomb-shrine in Lahore, popularly known as Data Darbar, is one of the most frequented shrines in South Asia.
In 2016, the Government of Pakistan declared November 21st to be a public holiday for the commemoration of the commencement of Ali Hujwiri's three-day death anniversary. In certain years, it is declared as a holiday in Lahore.
