The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee on Tuesday announced that the Muharram moon has not been sighted in the country, hence the first of Muharram will fall on July 20 (Thursday).

       “As you all know, the Islamic calendar begins with Muharram and today, we have announced the beginning of Muharram,” said committee chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad while making the announcement.

       Accordingly, the Ashura — Muharram 10 — will be observed on July 29 (Saturday).

       The announcement was made after a meeting of the committee in Quetta, presided over by Maulana Azad, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.

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       Meanwhile, meetings of zonal and district Ruet-i-Hilal Committees were held at their respective headquarters.

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

       It commemorates 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.

       Keeping in view the need for extra security due to the spike in religious activity during the first 10 days of Muharram, authorities make arrangements accordingly.

       This time, the security plan for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa includes the monitoring of social media in order to check “negative propaganda.”