Moon not sighted, first Ramazan on April 25

• The announcement was made by Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman.
• Based on computer generated image, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had ruled out the possibility of sighting the moon with telescopes.

(Karachi) The moon of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak has not been sighted in Pakistan and the holy month of Islamic calendar year will begin from Saturday (April 25).

The announcement was made by Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman on Thursday. The committee with Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman in the chair met in Karachi for the sighting of the crescent of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak.

Other zonal and district committees also met to gather evidence of moon sighting.

Earlier, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had ruled out the possibility of sighting the moon in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and said it will not be possible to spot the moon during sunset with telescopes.

His confirmation was based on a computer generated image showing the exact position of the moon. The image was generated by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

“On April 23, the moon will only be 2 degrees above the horizon at sunset; it is impossible to spot the moon during sunset with telescopes. Therefore, if anyone living in Pakistan wants to fast with the people in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia it is up to them,” he had said.