The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee announced on Saturday that the Muharram moon has not been sighted in the country, hence the first Muharram would fall on July 8 (Monday).

“No testimony was received from any part of the country about the sighting of the moon,” he said committee chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad said at a press conference in Quetta on Saturday. “It was thus consensually decided that the first of the month would be observed on July 8.”

He said that the Ashura — Muharram 10 — would be observed on July 17 (Wednesday).

Azad said that meetings of zonal crescent sighting committees were held in all the provinces, but no evidence was received from any part of the country.

Muharram is a month of mourning, observed in particular by Shia Muslims worldwide.

The community observes the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, where amongst many, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Imam Husain, was martyred and other family members were martyred or subjected to humiliation.