ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis offered special Taraweeh prayers late last night and consumed pre-dawn suhoor meals across the nation, marking the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan from today, Sunday. 

Ramadan, the exact start date of which depends on the sighting of the new moon, began in Pakistan on Sunday, the first day of fasting, and a day after it started in most other parts of the world. 

Fasting in Ramadan, the ninth and the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, is one of the five pillars of Islam and this is the time of the year when religious fervor is rekindled throughout the Muslim world.

One of the significant features of Ramadan each year is the Taraweeh prayer, a non-obligatory night prayer during the holy month. Thousands across the country offered the Taraweeh prayers in well-lit mosques on Saturday night. 

“Today is the first day of Taraweeh,” Nadeem Aftab, a resident of Karachi, told Reuters on Saturday night. “We have to keep up this prayer the whole month with enthusiasm and should also invite others to this prayer every day.”

Others were busy buying items for the first suhoor meal or pre-dawn meal Muslims consume ahead of fasting. 

Javed Ali Baloch was among several customers at a shop buying “pheni,” or fried vermicelli for suhoor. 

 “I am here to buy pheni, which is only available during Ramadan for suhoor, and people love to eat it,” he said. “I buy it for my family.”

Pakistan is a predominantly Muslim country where more than 90% of its over 240 million people practice Islam, and most of them fast during the holy month.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday launched a Rs20 billion ($71.4 million) relief package for Ramadan which aims to benefit 4 million families across the country.

As part of the package, the government has decided to provide Rs5,000 ($17.87) each to around 4 million families across the country to support them during the month of Ramadan, officials said.