Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announces Aug 15 as the first day of Rabi-ul-Awwal after moon is not sighted
Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad. Photo: APP
The moon for Rabi-ul-Awwal was not sighted across the country, and Eid Milad-un-Nabi (PBUH) will be celebrated on Wednesday, Aug 26, Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad announced on Thursday.
He made the announcement after chairing a meeting of the committee in Islamabad.
Representatives from the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other concerned institutions also provided technical support in the matter.
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Zonal meetings were simultaneously held in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and other major cities, where the committee did not receive any testimony of moon sighting from anywhere in the country.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs also issued a notification confirming that the moon had not been sighted and that the first day of Rabi-ul-Awwal would fall on Aug 15.
According to the ministry’s notification, the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal will be observed on Wednesday, Aug 26, 2026.
Earlier, the Committee, was barred from going to the rooftop of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to sight the moon.
According to Express News, the committee, which was in Islamabad to sight the Rabi-ul-Awwal moon, was not allowed to go to the rooftop of the Kohsar Complex.
The committee and astronomers subsequently set up a telescope in the parking area of the Kohsar Complex to observe the moon.
It had already been anticipated that the moon would be difficult to sight due to clouds in the western sky.
