KARACHI: The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee announced on Wednesday night that crescent marking the beginning of Ramazan had been sighted in different parts of the country and that Thursday would be observed as the first day of the holy month.

Speaking to media personnel after a fairly long meeting here, the chairman of the committee, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, said the body had received testimonies about the Ramazan moon from various areas, including Upper Dir, Quetta, Buner, Abbottabad and Jacobabad.

He pointed out that religious scholars had themselves seen the moon in different places as had many other people. Therefore, Thursday would be observed as the first day of Ramazan.

Mufti Muneeb emphasised that the decision had been taken unanimously and cited statements of different zonal Ruet-i-Hilal committees in this regard.

The committee’s meeting, which was held at the offices of the Meteorological Department, was attended by the body’s members, officials of the department and other government functionaries concerned.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2018