ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central moon sighting committee announced the country would celebrate Eid Al-Fitr on Saturday, April 22, as the Shawwal moon marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan had not been sighted today, Thursday.
The beginning of the ninth and holiest month in the Muslim calendar, Ramadan, as well as the Eid holidays and the mourning month of Muharram, are determined by the sighting of the new moon in Pakistan, led by the moon-sighting committee.
In a press conference, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, chief of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (moon sighting committee) said the weather was mostly clear in most areas of the country on Thursday, but was also cloudy in some areas.
“We did not receive any testimonies of the sighting of the moon for the month of Shawwal,” Azad told reporters.
“Hence, it was decided with consensus that the first of Shawwal shall be on Saturday, April 22, and God willing, will be the day of Eid Al-Fitr.”
Muslims celebrate the three-day festival of Eid-Al-Fitr to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan during which it is obligatory to fast from dawn till sunset for an entire month.
