The crescent for the month of Shawwal was not sighted in Pakistan on Sunday and consequently the South Asian nation would celebrate Eid Al-Fitr on Tuesday, May 3, the central moon-sighting committee announced.
The three-day Eid Al-Fitr festival starts on the first day of the month of Shawwal in the Islamic lunar calendar. The festival marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, the country’s apex moon-sighting body, met at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Islamabad. The committee’s chairman, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, presided over the meeting.
“No credible testimony of [moon sighting] was received from any part of Pakistan,” Maulana Azad announced at a press conference in Islamabad Sunday night.
“Hence it was decided that Eid Al-Fitr will be celebrated on Tuesday.”
Earlier this week, the Pakistani government announced a four-day holiday for Eid Al-Fitr from May 2-5 (Monday to Thursday).
In Saudi Arabia, authorities announced on Saturday evening that Sunday will be the last day of Ramadan, meaning Eid Al-Fitr would begin on Monday.
