The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee is currently meeting in Islamabad for sighting the Shawwal moon and ascertaining whether Eidul Fitr — which marks the end of Ramazan — will fall on Friday or Saturday.

Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad is presiding over the session, while zonal and district moon sighting committees are also meeting at their respective headquarters.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will celebrate Eidul Fitr on Friday.

Last week, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atm­o­sphere Research Comm­i­s­s­ion (Suparco) forecast that Eidul Fitr was expected to fall on March 21 (Saturday) as the cha­nces of sighting the Shawwal moon on March 19 (Friday) were low.

However, it said that the final decision would be made by the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee.

Earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Depart­ment also predicted that Ramazan was likely to last 30 days this year as the Shawwal moon was unlikely to be visible on March 19.