Ramadan moon sighted in Pakistan, fasting starts today
- PMD, Suparco assisted the committee in moon sighting.
- Zonal committees convened to collect testimonies of sightings.
- Bangladesh, India announce Feb 19 as first day of holy month.
Pakistan begins the first fast of Ramadan 2026 today (Thursday), following the announcement of the crescent moon sighting by Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad.
A meeting of the committee was convened in Peshawar around 5pm on Wednesday to sight the moon for the holy month, with zonal committees across the country also convened to collect testimonies of moon sightings.
Ministry of Science and Technology, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) were also part of the committee and assisted the body in moon sighting.
The Suparco had forecast that the crescent for Ramadan 1447 Hijri would be visible today.
Pakistan will begin observing the holy month on the same day as Bangladesh and India, where the crescent moon was also sighted today.
Several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, marked first day of Ramadan today (Wednesday) after sighting the crescent moon a day earlier.
The countries reporting no sighting on Tuesday included Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Japan, Turkiye, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei.
The Muslim world welcomes Ramadan with deep religious devotion, as over a billion believers fast to practice patience, self-discipline, and generosity.
Islamic months last 29 or 30 days, with their start and end determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, so Ramadan does not fall on the same Gregorian date each year.
As the ninth month of the 12-month Islamic calendar — which is about 10 days shorter than the Gregorian year due to its lunar basis — Ramadan shifts annually across the Gregorian calendar.
