The federal government has announced four public holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr. As per the decision, the holidays will be observed from Friday to Monday.
At the same time, Deputy Director of the Pakistan Meteorological Department Anjum Nazir said that the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will meet in Islamabad on March 19 for the sighting of the Shawwal moon. He added that the chances of sighting the moon on that day are very low.
He explained that the moon will be born at 6:23 am on March 19 and its age by sunset will be less than 12 hours. From a scientific point of view, such a young moon is very difficult to see even with a telescope.
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According to the department’s assessment, there is a strong likelihood that Ramadan will last 30 days this year. In that case, the first of Shawwal and Eid-ul-Fitr are expected to fall on Saturday, March 21.
Officials also made it clear that the final decision about moon sighting and the exact Eid date will be announced by the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.