ISLAMABAD: The Cent­ral Ruet-i-Hilal Commi­ttee is set to convene today (Monday) for Ramazan’s moon-sighting at the office of Administrator Auqaf in Peshawar.

The meeting, to be presided over by the committee’s chairman Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, will witness the participation of esteemed members from both central and zonal Ruet-i-Hilal committees.

Central Ruet-i-Hilal Com­m­ittee Chairman Maulana Azad emphasised that similar meetings of zonal committees across the country would be held at their respective headquarters in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Islamabad to decide the moon-sighting of the holy month of Ramazan, 1445 AH.

Maulana Azad appealed to all citizens to be vigilant in sighting the moon, expressing hope for a unified day of fasting for the country.

Moon sighted in S. Arabia, UAE

Meanwhile, the Ramazan moon was sighted on Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia, according to the local media. Therefore, the holy month has begun in the kingdom on Monday, March 11.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia had called on Muslims to sight the crescent of Ramazan. The Supreme Court called on whoever sights the crescent — either by the naked eye or through binoculars — to report to the nearest court and register their observation, Khaleej Times reported.

The holy month will also begin in the UAE on Monday, March 11, as the country’s moon-sighting committee said the crescent moon for the holy month was spotted on Sunday evening.

Several other countries have already announced March 12 as the beginning of Ramazan, including Australia, Malaysia, Phili­ppines and Brunei.

Oman, too, has anno­unced that it will observe the beginning of Ramazan on March 12, as there was no sighting of the crescent moon on Sunday evening

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024