The meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee to sight the moon of Ramzan will be held tomorrow in Peshawar.
The meeting will be chaired by the committee’s Chairman Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad.
Representatives of the Ministry of Religious Affairs experts from SUPARCO and officials from the Pakistan Meteorological Department will also attend the session.
After reviewing testimonies the Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will make the final decision and announce the sighting of the Ramadan moon.
According to astronomical parameters there is a strong possibility of sighting the Ramzan moon on the evening of February 18. The new moon will be born today at 5:01 pm while on the evening of 29th Sha’ban the age of the moon will be more than 25 hours and 48 minutes.
Experts say there will be a gap of approximately 59 minutes between sunset and moonset in coastal areas making the crescent easily visible to the naked eye. Weather conditions across most parts of the country are expected to remain clear or partly cloudy further improving the chances of moon sighting.
In a separate development the United Arab Emirates council for fatwa has urged citizens of all the Emirates to look out for the crescent moon for the month of Ramzan 2026 that will appear on the evening of Tuesday, February 17. And the sighting will mark the official commencement of the holy month.
In a statement, the council invited Abu Dhabi and other emirates residents to keep their eyes on the sky, after sunset, and report any certain sightings.
Official process of moon sighting
Moon sightings are used to mark the start of the months in the Islamic lunar calendar. The sighting of the crescent moon in the month of Ramzan marks the start of the month.
The council affirmed official moon sighting efforts start from Maghrib prayer on Tuesday, February 17, 6:21pm. Field observation teams, accredited observatories and public testimonies to be considered before final announcement of the moon sighting.
Also read: Big announcement for Ramzan 2026
