Pakistan will celebrate the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr on Tuesday, May 3 as the Shawwal moon was not sighted in the country, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced on Sunday, Aaj News reported.
The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee met at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony in Islamabad with Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad in the chair, while the zonal committees held meetings in their respective cities to sight the Shawwal crescent.
The committee announced that it did not receive any reports related to the sighting of the moon of Shawwal 1443 AH today.
“It was decided through consensus that Eid will be observed on May 3 across the country,” said Maulana Azad in a press conference after the moon was not sighted.
The zonal committees in Lahore and Karachi had announced that they were unable to sight the Shawwal moon and neither had they received any witnesses claiming the crescent was sighted in Punjab and Sindh, respectively.
The moon, however, could not be sighted anywhere in the country.
Earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had ruled out sighting of Shawwal moon on May 1. Citing astronomical parameters, it said that there is a “no chance” of sighting the new moon of Shawwal, 1443 AH on the evening of May 1, 2022 i.e. on 29th of Ramazan, 1443 AH.
“The new moon of Shawwal, 1443 AH will be born on crossing conjunction point at 1:28 am,” it added.
At the time of the sighting, the age of the moon was 17 hours, and according to the PMD, the age of the moon must be 19 hours in order to sight it.
Meanwhile, South Waziristan and Afghanistan are celebrating Eid today after the Shawwal moon was sighted in the area yesterday.