PESHAWAR: Hours after state’s central moon sighting committee (Ruet-e-Halal Committee) Chairman Mufti Muneeb announced that no crescent sighting was observed from any part of the country and Ramzan will start on Saturday. However, Peshawar-based cleric Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai has once again contest the claim, announcing that the holy month of Ramzan will start on Friday.
Citizens in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will observe the first Ramazan-ul-Mubarak tomorrow (Friday), according to an announcement by Peshawar’s Masjid Qasim Ali Khan.
The announcement by prayer leader of the mosque, Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, was made after Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced that the Ramazan moon was not sighted anywhere in the country on Thursday.
Prior to him, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, led by Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, announced that Ramazan moon was not sighted anywhere in the country, therefore, Saturday (April, 25) would be observed as the first of Ramazan.
Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said earlier today that there’s no chance of the moon being sighted.
This is the first time a member of the ministry was present for the moon sighting and has been included in the committee.
Last year, Chaudhry’s ministry developed a lunar calendar to predict when the moon will be sighted. He caused a stir after saying that Pakistan’s future should not be left to maulvis (clerics).
