Ramadan moon sighted, tomorrow will be first fasting day

Lahore:  The moon of  Holy Ramadan 1445 Hijri was sighted, and tomorrow would be the first fasting day.

The declaration came after a gathering of both central and zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees convened to observe the crescent of the Islamic month in Peshawar.

Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad chaired the meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal committee in Peshawar, while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) zonal moon-sighting committee convened at the same venue.

Simultaneously, meetings of other zonal committees took place in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Quetta.

Elsewhere, Ramadan has already begun in various parts of the world, including the Middle East and Europe.

Several countries, such as Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Brunei, have designated March 12 as the start of Ramadan.

Oman, among them, announced its observation of the beginning of Ramadan on March 12 due to the absence of the crescent moon sighting on Sunday evening.

Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, the fasting month, stands as the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

During the fast, Muslims are obliged to refrain from eating, drinking, gossiping, and cursing, and are encouraged to concentrate on meditative practices such as prayers, reading the Holy Quran, and giving charity.