KARACHI:Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) in Karachi to sight the crescent for Zilhaj.
Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Syed Abdul Khabir Azad will preside over the meeting that will also be attended by the members of Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee and Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Karachi as well as representatives from Ministry of Religious Affairs, SUPARCO, Met Office and Ministry of Science and Technology.
Zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committees across the country will also hold meetings at their respective headquarters in Islamabad, Lahore Quetta and Peshawar. According to Astronomers, the Eid-ul-Azha, which is being observed on the 10th day of Zilhaj will be observed on July 10 as there are lesser chances of sighting the Zilhaj crescent on June 29.
Head of the Institute of Space Science and Technology of Karachi University Professor Dr Javed Iqbal has predicted that Eid-ul-Azha will fall on Sunday, July 10. According to Prof Javed, the altitude of the Zilhaj crescent will be less than five degrees when the sun sets on June 29 and there would be only half-an-hour duration between sunset and moonset so the crescent could not be sighted. Hence, the first Zilhaj will fall on July 1 and Eid-ul-Azha on July 10.
If the moon is sighted on June 29, it is likely that Pakistan will celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha along with Saudi Arabia and other major countries of the Muslim world as there is a strong possibility of the Zilhaj crescent sighting in Saudi Arabia on June 29.