- Many people believe it is their religious obligation to follow Ƶ while observing Ramadan and Eid
- Decades-old tradition to follow the Kingdom avoids controversy regarding moon-sighting, locals say
PESHAWAR: Following Ƶ’s announcement that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, religious clerics in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which also includes the newly-merged tribal districts, decided to begin Ramadan with the Kingdom in their own territories.
Mufti Muhammad Arif, chief of Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Mohmand district, noted that residents of his area had traditionally followed Ƶ while fasting and celebrating Eid.
“Monday will be the first day of fasting for us,” he told Arab News.
In Datta Khel, a remote town in North Waziristan, several people bought food items that are mostly used during Ramadan.
“Ƶ is the citadel of Islam,” said Sabil Khan, who owns a general store on the outskirts of Miran Shah in North Waziristan. “We will continue to follow the Kingdom and start our fasting month from tomorrow.”
The Islamic world follows a lunar calendar, and the traditional moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.
Fawad Ahmad, a businessman from Haider Khel, another town in North Waziristan, recalled that people in his village had been following the Kingdom for decades since they considered it a religious obligation.
Shamsuddin Khan, a tribal elder of Nawi Kali in Bajaur district, said that about 90 percent of people in his region started fasting with Ƶ.
Wahidullah Afghan, a refugee in Kohat district, told Arab News that Afghans who lived in Peshawar followed Pakistan’s Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. However, those who lived in refugee camps, he continued, started fasting with Ƶ and were going to fast from Monday.
“We follow Saudi Arab to avoid any controversy in this holy month about moonsighting,” he added.