The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee announced on Wednesday that the moon of the holy month of Ramzan was not sighted in the country and that the first of Ramzan will be observed from Friday, June 19. However, despite the government’s efforts to ensure that the Islamic holy month begins the same day across the country, Peshawar’s Maulana Shahab Popalzai announced that several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Tribal Areas would observe the first fast on Thursday (today) as the local moon sighting committee had received five testimonies from different areas.
The official announcement regarding the sighting of the moon was made by Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Munibur Rehman after chairing the meeting of the committee held at the Meteorological (Met) Office.
Every year, Ramzan moon sighting ends in controversy with several areas of Pakistan going against the official announcement. The Religious Affairs Ministry had contacted all stakeholders to follow and accept the decision of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee regarding the start of the month of fasting but it’s obvious that little heed was paid to its appeal.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar would keep their first fast of the month today (Thursday).