Naveed 
The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee (RHC) is scheduled to meet in Peshawar today to sight the moon and announce commencement of the Holy month of Ramadan. Meeting will be joined by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai for the first time.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has issued a notification that states RHC’s chairman Maulana Azad Khabeer Azad will chair the meeting in Peshawar. April 14 is likely to be the first day of Holy month of Ramadan.
Chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, had stated earlier that people across Pakistan will be observing first Roza and Eid together on the same day.
Start of the month of Ramadan is determined by lunar calendar that follows 29 or 30 day cycle which is based on cycle of moon.
The Meteorological Department said that the Ramadan crescent has risen at 7:32 am today and will be visible for more than 35 hours after the sunset. Weather department too said that there is a clear possibility of moon sighting in evening. Met office said maximum part of the country would be clear or partly cloudy, leading to high chances of moon sighting.
This year’s moon sighting would be the first one under new chairman Moulana Azad. He was appointed last year in December by the federal government. He had replaced Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman. Azad is also Khateeb of Badshahi Masjid in Lahore.
The meeting of the Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Islamabad will take place at the Ministry of Religious Affairs at Pakistan Secretariat. The meetings of provincial, district, and zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees would be held at their respective provincial and district headquarters. On the basis of information received, the Chairman then will be announcing the decision of moon sighting or otherwise.
