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Thursday March 28, 2024

Eid in most parts of KP, Fata today

By Yousaf Ali
June 15, 2018

PESHAWAR: A number of non-official moon-sighting committees in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the newly merged tribal districts announced on Thursday that Eidul Fitr would be celebrated today (Friday) as the Shawal moon has been sighted.

However, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa decided to celebrate Eidul Fitr on Saturday (June 16) along with the federal government as per announcement by the Markazi Ruet-i-Hilal Committee.

The oldest and biggest private Ruet-i-Hilal (moon-sighting) Committee headed by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai met at the historic Qasim Ali Khan mosque in Peshawar and received claims about sighting of the moon. Popalzai and his group of religious scholars also held a meeting to weigh the accounts of the faithful claimingto have sighted the Shawal moon.

Later at 10.20 pm, Popalzai announced in presence of a large number of clerics and members of the media at the Qasim Ali Khan mosque that 44 persons belonging to different areas had approached their committee and more than a dozen reached the mosque in person to claim that they had sighted the moon. He said the committee accepted the evidence of 14 of them about moon-sighting and, therefore, was announcing that Eidul Fitr would be celebrated on Friday.

His announcement was greeted with chants of Allah-o-Akbar amid jubilation. Evidence of moon-sighting received from various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initially included 10 from Peshawar, five from Rustam area in Mardan district, seven from Bannu, eight from Charsadda, three each from Swabi, Kohat and Nowshera, four from Timergara in Lower Dir district, 10 from Khyber tribal districts and six from Bajaur tribal district.

In Mardan, subsequently the local non-official Ruet-i-Hilal committee also announced that Eid would be celebrated on Friday on the basis of evidence by 21 persons about sighting of the moon.

Similar announcements were made by local clerics in different parts of the province. Most followed the announcement of moon-sighting made by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai-led committee in Peshawar.

Announcements were made from loudspeakers in the mosques. As the announcement about moon-sighting was made late, the faithful had already offered Taraweeh prayers with the intention to observe fast the next day. In Swabi, Maulana Tayyeb Tahir of Jamaat Ishat wal Tauheed also announced that Eid would be celebrated on Friday.

Eidul Fitr would be celebrated in most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the erstwhile Fata today except in Malakand and Hazara divisions where the people traditionally celebrate Eid with the federal government as per the announcement made by the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee headed by Mufti Muneebur Rahman. Also, in the Cantonments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Eid would be celebrated on Saturday along with the rest of the country.