The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee will meet today (Wednesday) in Peshawar to sight the Ramazan moon. The committee chairman, Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, will preside over the meeting. The zonal and district Ruet-i-Hilal Committees in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and other cities will also gather to sight the new moon. Earlier this month, based on the moon’s expected age, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) predicted that the first day of Ramazan was “likely to fall” on February 19. However, Suparco said the final announcement regarding the beginning of the holy month would be made by the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, “which is the sole competent authority, based on credible witness testimonies from across the country”. Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan observed their first day of fasting on Wednesday after the Ramazan moon was sighted on Tuesday night. It is worth mentioning that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced a Rs38 billion Ramazan Relief Package for 12.1 million deserving families across the four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). “Every deserving family will receive Rs13,000 through a digital wallet or bank transfer, without discrimination based on party affiliation or point of view,” he said.