Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the Central Route Hilal Committee, Chairman Abdul Khabir Azad said that he had received credible evidence of the sighting of the moon.

He added that after the testimonies, it was decided that the moon of Shawwal has appeared and Eid-ul-Fitr will be on Thursday.

The announcement of the first Shawwal moon was unusually delayed. The announcement was made after the moon sighting committee met in Islamabad with its Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad in the chair.

The moon did not appear in Quetta at first, the zonal committee announced. However, the zonal committee said that the final decision would be taken by the Central Route Hilal Committee.

Earlier, Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that it was not possible to see the moon today.

Fawad Chaudhry said that those who want to celebrate Eid with Saudi Arabia, this is their option.

Fawad Chaudhry further said that it would not be wise to end the holy month by lying.

"Let's just say we celebrate Eid according to Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia," he added.

Earlier, DG Awqaf said that the weather in Lahore was cloudy and it was not possible to see the moon.

The zonal committee said that the final announcement of moon sighting would be made by the central sighting crescent committee.

The meeting of Zonal Committee was chaired by DG Endowments Dr Tahir Raza Bukhari. Scholars and representatives of the Meteorological Department attended the meeting.