A notification from the interior ministry announced on Wednesday that offices across the country will be closed by 3pm on September 6 in order to observe Defence Day.

The day will also be observed as the Kashmir Solidarity Day, the notification said. The day's activities will also include visiting the families of martyrs as well as monuments built in their memory, it added.

Friday would mark the 54th anniversary of the 1965 Pakistan-India war. The day is observed with traditional zeal across the country and special ceremonies are held to honour the martyrs of the war.

This year, the nation will also express solidarity with residents of India-occupied Kashmir, who have been under lockdown for the past month. The Indian government had placed Kashmiri leaders under house arrest and imposed a strict curfew and communications blackout in the region before it repealed Article 370 of the constitution, revoking occupied Kashmir's special status.