KARACHI (Dunya News) – The Zilhajj moon in Pakistan has been sighted, marking the beginning of the last Islamic month.
It means people in Pakistan will celebrate Eidul Azha on June 17 (Monday).
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, headed by chairman Maulana Syed Abdul Khabir Azad, presided over the meeting. The committee sat for a couple of hours and after gathering evidence, announced the onset of the new month.
The Zilhajj moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia a day earlier and the Muslim country will celebrate Eidul Azha on June 16. According to Saudi authorities, the first day of Zilhajj falls on June 7 (Friday).
Eid forecast for Pakistan
In keeping with the tradition, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted a few days earlier that Eidul Azha was likely to be celebrated on June 17 (Monday).
According to the Climate Data Processing Centre, the moon of Zilhajj is most likely to be sighted on June 7 (Friday) and Eidul Azha will be on June 17 (Monday).
According to the centre, the moon will rise at 5:38pm on June 6, while the sunset is likely to be at 7:20pm. The moon is likely to be visible for 72 minutes after sunset.
The moon must be 19 hours old to be visible while at the time of sunset, the age of the moon in Karachi will be 26 hours and 8 minutes.
On Eidul Azha or the day of sacrifice, Muslims follow the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S) and demonstrate their obedience to Allah by sacrificing an animal.