PESHAWAR: Chairman of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Maulana Syed Mohammad Abdul Khabir Azad announced the sighting of Ramazan’s moon here on Tuesday evening, heralding the beginning of the Islamic fasting month.
The committee met at the provincial secretariat of Auqaf at Eidgah on Charsadda Road on Tuesday. Besides local and central ulema of the committee, the meeting was also attended by officials of the Met office.
Announcing the decision, Maulana Khabir said that evidence of moon sighting had been received from Islamabad, Karachi, Badin, Swat, Rajanpur, Qasur and other cities of the country. He said it would send a message of unity that the fasting month would be observed throughout the country on the same day.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry. APP/File
ISLAMABAD: A tweet by Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday that the Ramazan moon would be sighted in all major cities on April 13 has once again stirred a controversy as religious circles, including the newly-appointed chairman of Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, expressed their annoyance over his statement.
The ministry of religious affairs and the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee had been facing controversies over moon sighting in the previous years.
Meanwhile, Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad said the country had faced a serious image issue due to the many announcements related to moon sighting in the past.