The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced Wednesday that the Zil-Hajj moon has not been sighted in Pakistan, adding that Eid ul Adha in Pakistan will be observed on July 10 (Sunday).

Chairman Maulana Syed Abdul Khabir Azad announced the decision following a meeting of the committee, held in Karachi after Maghrib prayers to sight the crescent moon.

The first day of Zil hajj would fall on July 1 (Friday), he added.

In the meeting, it was formally announced by the committee that the moon of Zul-Hijjah has not been seen anywhere in the country, therefore Eid-ul-Adha will be on Sunday, July 10.

Earlier, the Lahore Zonal Committee had also announced that the moon of Dhi Al-Hajj has not been seen. Eid-ul-Adha will be on Sunday, July 10, however, the final announcement in this regard was to be made by the Central Route Hilal Committee.

Islamabad: Pakistan has reported one death and 541 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest since March 11 when it recorded 571 positive cases. 

According to the figures released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, an uptick in new COVID-19 cases in Pakistan consistently continues as the country reported over 500 new daily cases for the first time in three months. 

Following the situation, the health ministry said that wearing mask has been made mandatory on all domestic flights, railways and public transport.  

The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,535,144 across Pakistan after adding the fresh cases.  

March 23 was the first day without any recorded deaths in Pakistan since the pandemic took hold in 2020. Official death figures are typically lower at weekends and holidays because of a lag in reporting.  

The health authorities have advised the people to restart following COVID related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) such as wearing face masks, sanitizing hands, and maintaining social distance.

Islamabad: Federal Finance and Revenue Minister, Miftah Ismail here on Wednesday clarified that the government has no intention to pass on the full amount of petroleum levy (Rs.50 per liter) as incorporated in the Finance Bill 2022-23 to the consumers. 

“The government has got the permission from you (the house) to impose up to Rs.50 per litter levy on petroleum products but there is no hope and intention to take the levy up to this figure”, he said while speaking in the National Assembly (NA). 

The Minister also informed the members of the house that at present there is zero petroleum levy on the petroleum products.