First Ramazan to be partially observed in KP today

PESHAWAR: The controversy over moon-sighting persisted as first Ramazan is being observed in most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday as per the late-night announcement made by chief cleric of historic Masjid Qasim Ali Khan and head of the private Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai.

The official central moon-sighting committee headed by Mufti Munibur Rahman through a much earlier announcement had declared that moon could not be sighted anywhere in the country and the first Ramazan would be observed on Saturday.

The meeting of the Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai-led regional private moon-sighting committee continued late on Thursday night. A number of clerics from Peshawar attended the meeting.

It was pointed out that several people had contacted the committee members claiming to have sighted the moon. However, only five could reach the Qasim Ali Khan mosque till 10.30 pm while another four gave the assurance that they would reach the mosque in person.

It was exactly at 10.38 pm when Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai came out of the main hall of the mosque where the marathon meeting was held and made the announcement of moon- sighting before the media persons. Also present were common people who had crowded the mosque and were anxiously waiting for the announcement.

In his brief announcement, Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai said that they received nine witnesses from Peshawar, got five telephone calls from Landikotal, one from Bannu and a few from Mardan and Charsadda as well. He said all of them claimed to have sighted the moon and religious scholars had asked them questions to find out if their claims were credible.

The Ramazan and Shawal moon-sighting have always generated controversy between the official and private moon-sighting committees. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, majority of the people follow the private moon-sighting committee led by Mufti Shahbuddin Popalzai and they keep waiting for his announcement.