Ramazan in Pakistan begins on Tuesday
According to the astronomical parameters, there was no chance of sighting of the new moon today.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Ramazan will begin on Tuesday, May 7, as the moon for the month was not sighted on Sunday, according to the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee.
Committee chairman Mufti Muneebur Rehman made the announcement after a meeting at the Met Department complex in Karachi. He said no evidence was received from any part of the country.
“All the participants at the Karachi meeting and those at zonal committee meetings reached a consensus that the moon was not sighted in any part of the country on Sunday. Therefore the first of Ramazan will be on Tuesday (May 7),” the Ruet-Hilal body’s chief said.
“It is not my personal decision,” Mufti Muneeb said, adding that the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee membership comprised scholars belonging to different schools of thought and they were not “under my influence”.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted earlier the possibility of Ramazan moon sighting on the evening of May 6 (Monday) and said the holy month is expected to commence on May 7. The weather is expected fair or partly cloudy in most parts of the country, according to the climate record.
The MET office said the new moon of Ramzan, 1440 AH will be born on crossing conjunction point at 03:45 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) on May 5. The moon will be sighted on the evening of Monday, May 6 and the holy month is expected to begin on May 7.
According to the astronomical parameters, there was no chance of sighting of the new moon on Sunday.
“The new moon will be 15 hours and 18 minutes old by the time sun sets on Sunday, May 05 in Pakistan, and it will be only seven degrees above the horizon,” an expert said.
Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East were able to see the moon on May 5 and observe the first fast of the holy month on May 6.
Responding to a statement of Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a federal minister, Mufti Muneeb advised him to refrain from commenting on religious matters. He further asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to advise his ministers.
He made the remarks when his attention was drawn to an announcement by the minister for science and technology that a five-member committee had been set up to prepare a 10-year calendar for Ramazan, the two Eids and Muharram to “put an end to controversies arising from sighting of the crescent”.
“The minister is unaware of the system and if he is interested, there are experts who can prepare even a 100-year lunar calendar,” he continued.
He said some people have been waging propaganda against religious scholars, adding that the announcement of minister for science and technology to form a committee was not appropriate.
