PESHAWAR (Kashmir English): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared a public holiday across the province on the occasion of 1st Muharram-ul-Haram. A formal notification has also been issued in this regard.
According to a notification, “1st Muharram-ul-Haram 1448 AH (2026) will be a Public Holiday (subject to sighting of moon by Markazi Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Pakistan) throughout the province.”
It stated that government offices and other related institutions in the province will remain closed on the 1st day of Muharram.
Officials say that the holiday on 1st Muharram will be observed after the announcement made by the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee regarding the beginning of the new Islamic year.
According to astronomical calculations, this year’s Muharram-ul-Haram is likely to begin in Pakistan on Wednesday, June 17, as the new moon is not expected to be visible anywhere in the country on the evening of June 15.
Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meeting
As per details, the meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee is currently underway for sighting the Muharram-ul-Haram moon at Iqbal Hall, Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
Earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had said that there were no chances of moon sighting on June 15, as the interval between the birth of the moon and sunset would be insufficient for crescent visibility.
In an advisory issued on June 11, the Met Office said weather conditions were expected to remain clear in several parts of the country. However, it added that the moon is likely to be born at 7:54 am on June 15 and, as a result, will not be visible by sunset on Zil Hajj 29.
The PMD provided details of moonset timings across different regions of the country, saying the moon is expected to set at 7:59 pm in Punjab, 8:55 pm in Sindh, 8:23 pm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 8:34 pm in Balochistan.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the moon will set at 8:00 pm, while in Azad Jammu and Kashmir it will remain visible until 8:07 pm, the met office said.
