PESHAWAR: Following Saudi Arabia’s announcement that the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, religious clerics in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which also includes the newly-merged tribal districts, 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 Saudi Arabia while fasting and celebrating Eid.
“Monday will be the first day of fasting for us,” he told Arab News.
In Datta Khel, a remote town in North Waziristan, several people bought food items that are mostly used during Ramadan.
“Saudi Arabia is the citadel of Islam,” said Sabil Khan, who owns a general store on the outskirts of Miran Shah in North Waziristan. “We will continue to follow the Kingdom and start our fasting month from tomorrow.”
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 Saudi Arabia.
Wahidullah Afghan, a refugee in Kohat district, told Arab News that Afghans who lived in Peshawar followed Pakistan’s Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. However, those who lived in refugee camps, he continued, started fasting with Saudi Arabia and were going to fast from Monday.
“We follow Saudi Arab to avoid any controversy in this holy month about moonsighting,” he added.
Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with Saudi Arabia
Pakistan's northwestern areas traditionally fast with Saudi Arabia
- Many people believe it is their religious obligation to follow Saudi Arabia while observing Ramadan and Eid
- Decades-old tradition to follow the Kingdom avoids controversy regarding moon-sighting, locals say
Pakistan PM praises stuntman ‘Sultan Golden’ for breaking record for fastest reverse car driving
- Sultan Muhammad Khan drove one mile in reverse in just 57 seconds to set new world record, local media widely reported
- Khan previously broke world record for longest motorbike ramp jump in 1987, managing a 249-feet long jump in Lahore
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari praised renowned stuntman Sultan Muhammad Khan, popularly known as “Sultan Golden,” for breaking the world record for fastest reverse driving a car on Saturday.
As per local media reports, Khan achieved the feat in the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province Quetta, when he drove one mile in reserve in just 57 seconds.
“Sultan Golden has made Pakistan proud across the world,” Sharif said in a statement released by his office.
The Pakistani prime minister said his government is committed to providing all possible facilities in every field of sports.
Zardari also heaped praise on the stuntman for setting the new world record.
“He said the achievement reflects the skill, courage and dedication of Pakistanis, strengthening Pakistan’s positive image globally and wished him continued success,” the president’s official X account wrote.
Khan has been performing stunts since the 1980s in Pakistan, a country where motorsports does not gain traction due to a lack of infrastructure and popularity of other sports such as cricket, football and squash.
Khan, who hails from the southwestern city of Pasni, earned the nickname ‘Golden’ early on in his youth for his iconic curly golden hair.
In March 1987, he entered his name in the Guinness Book of World Records when he performed the longest motorbike ramp jump in Lahore. Khan managed a 249-feet long jump, beating the previous record by two feet.
