The current study aims to explore secondary school students’ perceptions regarding their motivation towards English language reading in public sector schools in Gilgit, Pakistan. Cross-sectional survey under quantitative paradigm was employed as research methodology. Six schools (three girls and three boys) out of 12 were selected through simple random sampling method. A sample of total 313 secondary school students participated in the study. For the data collection, a research tool (Motivation for English Language Reading Questionnaire) was developed and validated. The tool was directly administered by the researcher in the research field. The obtained data was analysed for descriptive, exploratory and inferential analysis. The findings of the study illustrated that different factors influenced students for reading motivation. At home students got motivation from their siblings’ reading engagement. Further, they also get motivated when parents facilitated them by providing reading material and giving positive comments on their children’s reading engagement. Whereas at school, students got motivation for reading when their teachers engage them in different motivating activities such as assigning new reading tasks, provide opportunities for reading discussion in the class, and explaining reading passages by teachers. Moreover, students were motivated to read in order to develop their language skills. Books with pictures and interesting topics also motivated students to read in English. The findings also highlighted that girls were more intrinsically motivated towards reading than boys. This study presents key insights to ELTs, students, parents, policy makers and other stake holders regarding motivation of ESL students towards reading in secondary schools.