Ramazan in Gulf, Far East countries from tomorrow

Secretary General Ruet-e-Hilal Research Council earlier said Ramazan in Pakistan will likely begin on Thursday

Religious authorities in many Gulf countries and the Far East announced on Tuesday that Ramazan moon had not been sighted, therefore, the holy month would begin on Thursday.

According to the Saudi media, the moon sighting committee met in central Riyadh. Al Arabiya news channel reported that unfavourable weather conditions such as dust made the moon-sighting difficult.

The UAE Moon Sighting Committee also announced it was unable to sight the moon, therefore, Wednesday is the last day of Shaban and Ramazan will officially start in the Emirates on Thursday. Other Gulf countries - Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon - also made the same announcement.



Elsewhere in the world, authorities and Islamic representative organisations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore Australia have said that the Ramazan moon had not been sighted in their countries therefore, the holy month will begin on Thursday.

In Pakistan Ramazan usually begins a day after it starts in Saudi Arabia but Khalid Ejaz Mufti, the Secretary General of the Ruet-e-Hilal Research Council (RHRC), said that the holy month could begin from Thursday.

According to Mufti new moon could be sighted only if its age was more than 19 hours at sunset and the difference between sunset and moonset is more than 40 minutes. He added the age of the new moon in Wednesday evening will be more than 26 hours in all cities of Pakistan, and the difference between sunset and moonset will be 58-60 minutes.