ISLAMABAD: Eid ul Fitar will be celebrated across Pakistan today (Thursday), the central moon sighting committee tagged as ‘Markzi Ruet e Hilal Committee’, announced late Wednesday night.
After five hour marathon meeting of the committee in Islamabad, its Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad announced in Islamabad that Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Thursday, May 13, in Pakistan.
It is rare that Eid ul Fitar is celebrated in Pakistan on same day across the country as there has always been controversy over sighing of moon for the months of Ramzan and Shawal to begin and end holy month of Ramazan. In many parts of KPK, especially followers of a cleric Populzai usually follow Ramazan Calendar with Saudi Arabia.
Azad in his press conference said testimonies were received from Qilla Sifullah, Pasni, Peshawar and Sindh’s Mirpur, among other areas, which were verified by zonal committees before the central committee made final announcement at around 11:30pm.
As time drew close to 11 in the night, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi urged the nation to be patient, promising that the decision will be announced “soon”.
He said that the decision will be “in line with the Shariah”.
The zonal committees in Sukkur, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta had ended their meetings, declaring that the moon could not be sighted in the three cities.
However, Peshawar, zonal committee under the chair of Maulana Ehsaan, verified the testimonies coming from different parts of KPK and conveyed their decision to the main committee .
Maulana Ishaq, Qadri Abdul Rauf and Mufti Fazlullah Jan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Shah, Maulana Irshad Hussain and Maulana Abdul Baseer were part of Peshawar committee meeting.
Meteorological department had earlier said that there are slim chances of the moon being sighted in the city. Minister for information Fawad Chaudhry had also declared in a tweet that there were no chances of sighing of Shawal moon on Wednesday night. He was rebuked by minister for religious affairs through a twit.
Earlier in the evening Imam of Masjid Qasim a local cleric of one of Peshawar’s central mosques Shahabuddin Popalzai claimed that they have received 189 testimonies from several areas including Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Kohat.
Popalzai said that information regarding these testimonies have been forwarded to the zonal committee in Peshawar.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department had said that the crescent moon is visible 20 hours and 40 minutes after birth of new moon.
It has claimed that in Pakistan there is no area where the moon coincides with this age, indicating the possibility that it may not be sighted on Wednesday evening.
Officials from the meteorological department, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and the Ministry of Science and Technology are also providing technical support to central moon sighting committee during its meeting.
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