Claim: Social media accounts claim the Government of Pakistan has announced a four day working week as per the smart petroleum lockdown.
Fact: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MOIB) Fact Checker on 17 September 2026 confirmed this notification as false.
On 15 September 2026, several social media accounts posted news suggesting that due to rising global oil prices, the Pakistani government has imposed a ‘smart petroleum lockdown’, under which a four day working day week will be implemented by the Cabinet Division. Some of these accounts included an image of what looks like a government notification.
Screenshots of viral posts spreading the claim.
Fact or Fiction?
A keyword search of “smart petroleum lockdown” and “four-day working week 2026 notification” led to news reports posted on 15 September 2026, that stated the federal government is considering a smart lockdown to reduce fuel prices, which includes public and private offices operating for four days a week, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday observed as holidays. However, none of these reports confirmed this new working plan.
On 15 September 2026, the same day these articles were published, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry denied rumors that a smart lockdown was discussed in a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. He stated such a proposal was not in his knowledge, and clarified the meeting was solely focused on petroleum products.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MOIB) official Fact Check account on X also debunked the news as false, saying the notification being circulated is fake.
MOIB Fact Checker X account debunking the claim.
Soch Fact Check concludes that the Government of Pakistan did not announce a four-day working week in September 2026, as there is no reliable reporting about such a decision and the viral notification was debunked by the MOIB.
Virality
The news of a four-day working week under the smart lockdown went viral on Facebook, X and Instagram. The same notification, with a different date, was also spread in March 2026.
On X such news gained 4,587 Views, whereas on a Facebook reel there was a cumulative 40.4K likes and 3.8K reshares.
Conclusion: The Government of Pakistan never publicised a four-day working in September 2026, the news is false.
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