The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee in Pakistan declared on Monday evening that the Ramadan moon has been sighted, and the first day of the holy month will commence on Tuesday (tomorrow).
This announcement followed a meeting of the central and zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees convened to sight the crescent of the Islamic month in Peshawar. The Central Ruet-e-Hilal committee meeting was chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad in Peshawar, while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) zonal moon-sighting committee also gathered at the same venue. Simultaneously, meetings of other zonal committees occurred in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Quetta.
Meanwhile, Ramadan has already begun in several parts of the world, including the Middle East and Europe. Various countries, including Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei, have also announced March 12 as the start of Ramadan. Oman, based on the absence of a crescent moon sighting on Sunday evening, declared that it would observe the beginning of Ramadan on March 12.
Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, the month of fasting, is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. During the fast, Muslims are required to abstain from eating, drinking, gossiping, and cursing, while being encouraged to focus on meditative practices such as prayers, reading the Holy Quran, and engaging in charitable activities.