WEB DESK: The moon for Rabi-ul-Awwal was not sighted anywhere in Pakistan, with the first day of the Islamic month to fall on August 15, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced.
A meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, was held in Islamabad to review reports and testimonies regarding the sighting of the moon from across the country.
According to the committee, no credible sighting of the Rabi-ul-Awwal moon was reported from any part of Pakistan. It subsequently announced that the first of Rabi-ul-Awwal will be observed on Saturday, August 15.
The committee also announced that 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, marking Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH), will fall on Wednesday, August 26.
Representatives of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Ministry of Religious Affairs and other relevant institutions, along with members of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, attended the meeting.
Earlier, the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and the Meteorological Department had also forecast a low likelihood of sighting the moon on August 13.
SUPARCO said the moon was expected to be around 20 hours and 53 minutes old at sunset on August 13, while the gap between sunset and moonset in Pakistan’s coastal areas was expected to be around 32 minutes.
It had said the Rabi-ul-Awwal moon would not be visible to the naked eye or through telescopes on the evening of August 13.
