Reporting snapshot · 19 March 2026. The committee's decision is religiously authoritative in Pakistan; the government had already notified the associated public holidays.
What happened
Pakistan will observe Eid ul Fitr on Saturday, 21 March 2026, after the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee said it had received no credible testimony of the Shawwal crescent being sighted anywhere in the country.
Committee chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad announced the decision at a press conference in Islamabad after Thursday evening’s meeting. Ramadan had begun on 19 February, so the month will complete its full 30 days.
The committee’s zonal body in Peshawar reported six testimonies — five received by telephone and one from a witness who appeared in person — but all were referred to the central committee for verification and none met its criteria.
Meteorological officials had said the crescent’s age in Islamabad at sunset was only about 12 hours and 23 minutes, well below the roughly 19 hours and 20 minutes they consider the minimum for visibility. The sun set in the capital at 6:22pm and the expected window for sighting was about 6:51pm. The gap between sunset and moonset — roughly 26 minutes in Karachi and 30 minutes in Peshawar — also fell below the 40 minutes they say is needed.
Why it matters
The announcement fixes the end of Ramadan and the date of Eid ul Fitr, the second major religious festival of the Islamic year and a public holiday in Pakistan. The Cabinet Division had already notified Eid holidays for 20–21 March on the basis of forecasts that the moon would not be sighted on 19 March, and the committee’s decision confirms that calendar.
The timing also aligns Pakistan with several neighbours. India and Indonesia will also mark Eid on Saturday after no confirmed sightings, while most Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, celebrate on Friday after sighting the crescent a day earlier. Afghanistan observed Eid on Thursday.
The moon-sighting process is governed by Shariah-based criteria, and the committee’s ruling is treated as authoritative for the timings of congregational prayers and the end of the daily fast. Across the Muslim world, this year’s Ramadan has been shadowed by the war in the Middle East, which began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran and has disrupted travel and energy routes across the Gulf.
What is still uncertain
The decision settles the religious calendar but not the wider uncertainty around the holiday period, which coincides with the recently announced pause in cross-border operations with Afghanistan. Whether that pause extends beyond the holiday, and how travel and fuel disruptions linked to the Gulf conflict affect Eid arrangements, remain open.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 19 March 2026.
- Geo News — "Eid ul Fitr on Saturday as Shawwal moon not sighted in Pakistan"Published 19 March 2026 · What this source supports: the committee's announcement, the Peshawar testimonies, the moon-age and sunset data, and the international comparisons.
- Daily Pakistan — "Pakistan to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on March 21 as Shawwal moon not sighted"Published 19 March 2026 · What this source supports: Suparco's new-moon timing and the meteorological thresholds used to rule out sighting.
