Web desk: The Central Ruet e Hilal Committee will meet in Peshawar today to sight the Ramadan moon in Pakistan. The meeting will begin at 4 30 pm at the office of the Administrator Auqaf Eidgah Charsadda Road Peshawar. Members of the central and zonal Ruet e Hilal Committee will attend. Officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs will also join the session. Director General Hafiz Abdul Qadoos will represent the ministry. Shaukatullah Khan will attend from Suparco. Dr Hassan Ali Baig will represent the Meteorological Department. Zain ul Abideen will participate from the Ministry of Science and Technology.
According to a Suparco spokesperson the first fast is likely to be observed tomorrow. Astronomers state that the new moon was born on Tuesday at 5 01 pm Pakistan time. At sunset today the moon will be about 25 hours and 48 minutes old. Therefore experts believe people may be able to see the crescent with the naked eye.
Chairman of the Central Ruet e Hilal Committee Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad will announce the final decision about the sighting.
Meanwhile several countries have already confirmed the Ramadan moon. Saudi Arabia other Gulf countries and Afghanistan will observe the first fast today. Iraq Oman Turkiye Indonesia and Malaysia will begin fasting tomorrow. Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will start fasting on Thursday.
In addition Bangladesh India Japan Singapore Australia and France will also observe the first fast on Thursday.
Many Arab and Islamic countries consider moon sighting a key requirement for the start of a new Hijri month. Therefore authorities rely on both religious testimony and scientific data before making an official announcement.
