PESHAWAR: The moon marking the beginning of Ramadan 1447 AH was sighted across Pakistan on Wednesday evening after the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee received multiple testimonies from various parts of the country.
The committee convened its meeting at the Auqaf Department building in Peshawar under the chairmanship of Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad to review reports of the crescent sighting.
According to a committee member, around 40 testimonies were received from different regions, including Swabi, Dir, Mohmand, Batagram, Chaman, and Karachi. These testimonies were verified before confirming the sighting.
It was further shared that six reports were received from Mohmand, 15 from Chaman in Balochistan, and one from Karachi. Meanwhile, zonal committees in Islamabad and Lahore informed the central body that the crescent was not sighted in their respective cities as the observation period had concluded.
Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad formally announced the sighting of the Ramadan moon from Peshawar. Simultaneously, zonal and district-level meetings were also conducted in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Quetta.
Earlier, the SUPARCO had predicted that the new moon of Ramadan 1447 AH was expected to be born on February 17 at 5:01 PM Pakistan Standard Time. By sunset on February 18, the moon’s age was approximately 25 hours and 48 minutes, making visibility conditions highly favorable.
SUPARCO noted that the time gap between sunset and moonset along Pakistan’s coastal areas was estimated at around 59 minutes, providing a strong chance for naked-eye sighting. The agency stated that, based on astronomical calculations, the crescent was likely to be visible on the evening of February 18, indicating that the first fast would be observed on February 19, 2026.
However, the agency reiterated that the official commencement of Ramadan is determined by the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee after verifying testimonies from across the country.
