Ramazan likely to begin on March 24

RHRC confident new moon will not be visible before March 22 due to weather

ISLAMABAD:

The Ruet-i-Hilal Research Council (RHRC) on Saturday said while the chances of the holy month of Ramazan falling on March 23 were very low, the first fast was likely to be observed on March 24.

The new moon will be sighted only if its age is at least 19 hours at sunset, and the difference between sunset and moonset should also be more than 40 minutes in all areas of the country.

The crescent will begin its new cycle on March 21 (Tuesday) at 10:23pm. However, due to the weather conditions, it will not be visible to the naked eye on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday).

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Secretary-General of RHRC, Khalid Ijaz Mufti, said the probability of sighting the moon on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday) was very low.

Nonetheless, he added, if the visibility of the crescent is not obscured by clouds, the possibility of sighting cannot be ruled out. Therefore, the possibility of the 1st Ramazan beginning on March 23 was very low.

It may be mentioned here that in almost the rest of the countries, especially Arab countries, the holy month will most likely begin on March 23.

Countries that marked the beginning of Shaaban on February 21 will look for the crescent moon, which marks the beginning of the holy month, on March 21 but they will not be able to sight it because the moon will set before the sun.