The Muharram ul Haram crescent has not been sighted on Tuesday, Youm-e-Ashura would fall on Saturday, July 29 in Pakistan, reported 24News HD TV Channel on Tuesday.
Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad after a meeting of the committee held a press conference in Quetta and announced that the first Muharram will be on Thursday, July 20.
Representatives of the Central and Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committees, Pakistan Meteorological Department officials, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Religious Affairs and Harmony attended the committee meeting for moon sighting.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced a public holiday on the 1st of Muharram and also issued a notification of it.
The KP government said in the notification that the public holiday subject to the declaration of the moon of 1st of Muharram-ul-Haram by the Ruyat-e-Hilal Committee.
In Saudi Arabia, the moon has been sighted and the government has announced that the crescent of the Islamic month of Muharram-ul-Haram 1445 AH was sighted on Tuesday, July 18 and according to Umm Al Qura calendar, Wednesday will be the first day of the month of Muharram, 1445 Hijri, corresponding to July 19, 2023.
In UAE, Friday, July 21, has been declared an official holiday to celebrate New Islamic Hijri Year for public and public sector employees.
The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, and the Hijri New Year is celebrated on a different day of Gregorian calendar each year because lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year.