Peshawar: The Holy month of Ramadan will begin tonight (Thursday, March 23) across the country after receiving moon-sighting testimonies from different parts of the country, Maulana Syed Abdul Khabir Azad, Chairman of Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, announced here on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Maulana Azad said the committee has received testimonies from Swabi, Mardan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bukkur, therefore, tomorrow (Thursday) will be the first day of fasting in Pakistan.
The meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was held at the Provincial Awqaf Office, Peshawar, chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, along with zonal meetings in Islamabad and the three provincial capitals; Karachi, Queta, and Lahore.
However, no witness approached the abovementioned committees for the testimony of moonsighting.
Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, while talking to the media, said that he endeavored to create a census on fasting and celebrating Eid on the same day across the country, and the purpose of holding the meeting in Peshawar was to try to fast on the same day.
Besides, the unofficial Ruet-e-Hilal committee presided over by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai in Qasim Ali Khan mosque Peshawar, also announced Ramadan will begin tomorrow as the committee receives ample testimonies from different areas.
Earlier Alam Zeb, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Department, had said that it was difficult to see the Ramadan crescent in Peshawar due to cloudy weather.
Meanwhile, as Muslims all over the world are preparing for the first day of fasting, the moon of Ramadan was not sighted in India and Bangladesh, where Ramadan will begin on Friday, April 24.
