PESHAWAR: Following 海角直播鈥檚 announcement that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, religious clerics in Pakistan鈥檚 northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which also includes the newly-merged tribal districts,聽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 海角直播 while fasting and celebrating Eid.
鈥淢onday聽will be the first day of fasting for us,鈥 he told Arab News.
In Datta Khel, a remote town in North Waziristan, several people bought food items that are mostly used during Ramadan.
鈥満＝侵辈 is the citadel of Islam,鈥 said Sabil Khan, who owns a general store on the outskirts of Miran Shah in North Waziristan. 鈥淲e will continue to follow the Kingdom and start our fasting month from tomorrow.鈥
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 海角直播.
Wahidullah Afghan, a refugee in Kohat district, told Arab News that Afghans who lived in Peshawar followed Pakistan鈥檚 Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. However, those who lived in refugee camps, he continued, started fasting with 海角直播 and were going to fast from Monday.
鈥淲e follow Saudi Arab to avoid any controversy in this holy month about moonsighting,鈥 he added.
Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with 海角直播
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![Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with 海角直播]( "Pakistani men clean the walls while others offer noon prayers at a mosque ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Peshawar, Sunday, May 5, 2019. Muslims across the world will be observing the Ramadan, when they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP)")
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![Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with 海角直播]( "A view of a makeshift Ramadan market, where people can buy food items at a much cheaper rate, on the outskirts of Peshawar on May 5, 2019. The Muslim fasting month begins tomorrow in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the newly merged tribal districts following 海角直播鈥檚 announcement that the holy month will begin in the Kingdom from Monday. (Photo AN)")
Special
![Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with 海角直播]( "A view of a makeshift Ramadan market, where people can buy food items at a much cheaper rate, on the outskirts of Peshawar on May 5, 2019. The Muslim fasting month begins tomorrow in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the newly merged tribal districts following 海角直播鈥檚 announcement that the holy month will begin in the Kingdom from Monday. (Photo AN)")
Updated 06 May 2019
Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with 海角直播
- Many people believe it is their religious obligation to follow 海角直播 while observing Ramadan and Eid
- Decades-old tradition to follow the Kingdom avoids controversy regarding moon-sighting, locals say
