Peshawar-based Ruet committee says Eid tomorrow

PESHAWAR: The chances of celebrating Eidul Fitr on the same day in the country brightened as the influential private Ruet-e-Hilal committee headed by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai announced here Friday that they have not received any witness of Shawal moon-sighting and therefore Eidul Fitr would be celebrated on Sunday (tomorrow).

The committee said the 30th of Ramazan would be observed today. It is not often that 30 days of fasting is completed during Ramazan according to the lunar calendar.

It is also rare for the Peshawar-based private Ruet-e-Hilal committee to announce the celebration of Eidul Fitr on the same day as the official, Mufti Munibur Rahman-led Ruet-e-Hilal committee.

The official federal moon-sighting committee had not even convened its meeting on Friday. A large number of people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follow the decision of the Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai-led Ruet-e-Hilal committee about moon-sighting and they start Ramazan and celebrate Eidul Fitr in accordance with its announcement.

The meeting of the private moon-sighting committee was held at the historic Masjid Qasim Ali Khan. A good number of religious scholars attended the meeting. Common people in anticipation of the Shawal moon-sighting had also gathered in the mosque in significant numbers.

“No witness could be received from Peshawar and its surrounding areas. Therefore, a unanimous decision was made to complete 30 days of Ramazan as per the teachings of Holy Prophet Mohammad (SAW),” a statement issued after the meeting said. It added that 30th of Ramazan would be observed today and Eid would be celebrated on Sunday.