IANA tz database · zone identifier

Asia/Karachi

The IANA tz database identifier for Pakistan Standard Time in Pakistan. Store this string — not the abbreviation, not the offset — and your timestamps stay correct forever.

UTC+05:00Abbreviation PKTNo DST — never observed
Time in Asia/Karachi☾ Night
03:58:31
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Offset
UTC+05:00
Abbreviation
PKT
DST
No DST

Current offset

UTC+05:00

same year-round

Abbreviation

PKT

used year-round

DST behaviour

Never

has never observed daylight saving

Country

🇵🇰 Pakistan

ISO 3166: PK · view country page →

Using this identifier

The string to put in your code.

Asia/Karachi is the identifier to use in code and config for this region. Every modern language, database, and OS resolves it through the same tz database, so the examples here behave identically everywhere.

Avoid storing PKT or +05:00 — abbreviations are ambiguous and fixed offsets can't follow rule changes.

// format a date in this zone
new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
timeZone: 'Asia/Karachi',
dateStyle: 'full', timeStyle: 'long'
}).format(new Date());

Offset & DST behaviour

One offset,
16 years.

Asia/Karachi has kept UTC+05:00 year-round since 31 October 2009 — no daylight saving and no offset changes on record since. It is among the most stable identifiers in the database.

Every offset this zone has kept

+04:28:12UTC+05:00 · UNCHANGED 31 October 2009 NOW

Keeping this offset since

31 October 2009

Next transition

None scheduled

no DST rules exist for this zone

Safe to assume

Local = UTC + 5h, always

…but store the identifier anyway

Technical record

The database entry, in full.

source: IANA tz database

IdentifierAsia/Karachi
ISO country codePK🇵🇰 Pakistan
Reference coordinates24.87°N, 67.05°Etz database reference point
Standard offsetUTC+05:00abbreviation PKT
Daylight offset—daylight saving has never been observed

Where it applies

All of Pakistan, one clock.

Looking for travel-friendly info? See Karachi or Pakistan Standard Time.

🇵🇰
Pakistan

224M people, one time zone. The whole country resolves to Asia/Karachi.

Country page →
🇵🇰 Karachi
03:58
03:58:31 · PKT
pop. 15MPKT
🇵🇰 Lahore
03:58
03:58:31 · PKT
pop. 11MPKT
🇵🇰 Shekhupura
03:58
03:58:31 · PKT
pop. 3.3MPKT

Related identifiers

Nearby in the database.

Same offset · UTC+05:00

other zones keeping this offset right now

Frequently asked questions

Answers specific to this identifier — generated from the database record. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].

What UTC offset is Asia/Karachi?
Asia/Karachi is UTC+05:00, year-round. The offset never changes because the zone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Asia/Karachi observe daylight saving time?
No. Asia/Karachi has never observed DST — it has kept UTC+05:00 continuously since 31 October 2009.
Which country uses Asia/Karachi?
Pakistan. The identifier covers the whole country.
Is Asia/Karachi the same as PKT?
Asia/Karachi is one of the IANA zones that keeps Pakistan Standard Time (PKT). Use Asia/Karachi in software — PKT is a human-friendly label, not a valid identifier.

Free · Developer API

This zone, as JSON.

Everything on this page — offset, abbreviation, DST rules, coordinates — from one endpoint, always current with the latest tzdb release.

GET /v1/timezones Live

countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.

Get your free API key →
// this identifier, resolved live
GET /v1/timezones?iana=Asia/Karachi
{
"iana": "Asia/Karachi",
"utc_offset": "+05:00",
"abbreviation": "PKT",
"observes_dst": false,
"country": "PK"
}