KARACHI/LAHORE: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee led by its Chairman Mufti Munibur Rehman announced on Monday that the moon of Ramazan has been sighted in many parts of Pakistan, marking the advent of the annual fasting month from Tuesday.
A private TV channel reported that the crescent was visible with naked eye after the sunset in many cities. The formal announcement of the start of the holy month was made by Mufti Munib, who headed a meeting at the camp office of the Met Office in Karachi for moon sighting.
The state and private TV channels announced the new moon of the Islamic month was spotted on Monday evening. Mufti Munib said that the Muslims would observe Ramazan on the same day across Pakistan. He applauded Mufti Shahabuddin of Peshawar’s Qasim Ali Khan Masjid for his role in achieving unity that led to start of the fasting month on the same day.
During the month, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. They break the fast with a meal known as Iftar and before dawn they have a second opportunity to eat and drink during Sehar. Ramazan is followed by the Eidul Fitr festival.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, there was a good chance for sighting the new moon with either fair or partly cloudy weather in most parts of the country. “In case of any unusual weather over these areas, weather may be partly cloudy to cloudy over provincial and federal capital areas,” it said.
This raises the chances of the moon being sighted in several parts without any disputes. According to the department’s readings, the age of the new moon will be between 35 and 36 hours, with bright chances of it being sighted in Balochistan province. The department said that the new moon would be visible for up to 30 minutes after sundown.
