Pakistan’s moon-sighting committee, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, has announced that Ramadan 2024 will begin on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, after the crescent moon was sighted on the evening of Monday.
“We have received testimonies from different parts of Pakistan of the sighting of the moon of the month of Ramadan,” the committee’s chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad said in a press conference.
He said that the testimonies of the moon’s sighting were received about from most parts of the country, including Peshawar, Lahore, Swat, Sargodha and other places.
The committee then announced that the first fast would take place on Tuesday.
Maulana Azad congratulated the people and the Muslim community on the beginning of the holy month. Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month in the Muslim calendar.
Beginning of Ramadan in other countries
The Ramadan moon was sighted on Sunday evening in Saudi Arabia, and UAE, marking the beginning of the holy month in the two countries on March 11.
Muslims in China also began the month of fasting on Monday, March 11.
Several other countries including Australia, Malaysia, Philippines and Oman announced March 12 as the beginning of Ramadan.