Moonsighting to be a matter of click: Fawad

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday said the scientific committee, formed recently by the government to resolve the moon sighting controversy is preparing a “mobile application” for moon sighting.

The minister said the calendar to indicate the exact dates of Islamic festivals, including Ramazan, Eidul Fitr, Eidul Azha and Muharram, would be finalised by the 15th of Ramazan. Now the people would also be able to sight moon from their mobile application, he said, adding not a single qualified cleric has voiced against him for setting up the scientific committee.

He was talking to newsmen here at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research , University of Karachi. Prime Minister’s Task Force on Technology Driven Knowledge Economy Chairman Prof Dr Attaur Rahman was also present on the occasion.

Fawad said Pakistan has superiority in the field of ‘space science’ among the Muslim countries. In 1962, Pakistan became the second country in the world after Russia by sending its rocket into space.

He pointed out that formation of science and technology based economy, and the governance are the two important challenges for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

It focused not only on the establishment of Technology Driven Knowledge Economy but also on strengthening of large science and research institutions.

Talking about the current political development, Fawad said Prime Minister Imran Khan is the only national leader in the country. It is the phenomenal fact which required the opposition parties to wait patiently for five years until the PTI government completes its tenure.The leaders of opposition parties must stop shedding crocodile tears on the economic crisis as they had damaged the national economy while in government, he added. On the issue of dual nationality, he said the dual nationals are national assets and the criticism against a cabinet member having dual nationality is worthless.

About his ministry, Fawad said various development projects are being initiated at the national level, which included ‘provision of fresh water’ and establishment of 15,000 new schools, where science would be promoted on priority. The government would also fund ‘workable projects’ of any citizen below 40 years, he added. Fawad Chaudhry said instead of allocating resources to a small group of society, the state should give jobs to Imams of mosques in Grade 14 to Grade 16. He further said that in this way discipline will come and monopoly of a specific group of people will end. He said the Punjab chief minister should perform his responsibilities in this regard.

Earlier, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman chaired the meeting of Task Force on Technology Driven Knowledge Economy held at the Dr Panjwani Centre. Rehman made a detailed presentation on transformation towards technology driven economy. The meeting was attended by many national experts and scholars, including Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, Director, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Captain (R) Nasim Nawaz, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology Syed Yawar Ali, Prof Dr Naveed A. Malik, Former Rector, Virtual University of Pakistan, and others.