According to the notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad will chair the meeting at the Deputy Commissioner Complex in Quetta. Members of both the central and zonal Ruet-e-Hilal Committees of Quetta will attend the meeting.
Additionally, zonal committee meetings will also be held in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, and other cities. These zonal committees will collect moon sighting testimonies and forward them to the central committee. The final decision on the sighting of the Muharram moon for 1446 Hijri will be made by the chairman of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. If the moon is sighted, the first of Muharram will be on Sunday; if not, it will be on Monday, July 8.
It is noteworthy that the moon was not sighted in Saudi Arabia yesterday, thus the first of Muharram there will be on Sunday. The Meteorological Department has predicted that the moon may not be sighted in Pakistan today, making it likely that the first of Muharram will fall on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Peshawar Capital City Police have finalized their security plan for Muharram. Around 14,000 police officers and personnel will perform security duties during Muharram. Over 1,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure smooth traffic flow. A state-of-the-art command-and-control center has been established to monitor sensitive locations via CCTV. According to the police spokesperson, security checks at all entry and exit points of the city have been intensified.
