Karachi, May 17, 2026: The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Sunday announced that the crescent of Zilhaj has been sighted, confirming that Eidul Azha will be observed on May 27 across the country.
The announcement was made after the central committee met in Karachi, while zonal meetings were also held in Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar to review moon sighting reports.
Briefing the media, committee Chairperson Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said the skies remained mostly clear in several parts of the country, enabling multiple verified testimonies of the crescent sighting.
He said witness accounts were received from Karachi and other cities of Sindh, as well as Mardan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and several additional locations.
“After receiving authentic testimonies, it has been unanimously decided that 1st Zilhaj 1447 AH will fall on May 18 (Monday), and Eidul Azha will be observed on May 27 (Wednesday),” he said.
Earlier, the SUPARCO had also forecast that Eidul Azha would likely fall on May 27, based on astronomical calculations regarding the birth and visibility of the new moon.
According to SUPARCO, the new moon of Zilhaj 1447 AH was expected to be born on May 17 at 1:01am, with an estimated age of around 18 hours and 30 minutes at sunset.
The space agency noted that the interval between sunset and moonset along Pakistan’s coastal belt was about 60 minutes, making sighting conditions favorable, subject to clear weather and horizon visibility.
It added that, based on these parameters, the chances of sighting the crescent on the evening of May 17 were considered high, leading to the anticipated start of Zilhaj on May 18 and Eidul Azha on May 27.
