Shaheer Ahmed
The official moon-sighting committee has stated that it did not receive evidence concerning sightings of the Shawwal moon from any region of the nation and that Eid al-Fitr would be celebrated everywhere in Pakistan on Saturday, April 22.
We did not obtain any testimony on the observation of the moon throughout our investigation. As a result, Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated across the nation on Saturday, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, head of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, said on Thursday evening that this would be the case.
After a meeting of the committee in the nation’s capital, Azad held a news conference that was carried live on national television.
Zonal moon-sighting committees had already convened in several cities across the country but had failed to collect any evidence of Shawwal crescent sightings. The councils had already forecast that this year’s Eidul Fitr would most likely be observed on Saturday, April 22.
Interestingly, the conclusion of the official committee was also supported by an unauthorized moon-sighting group based out of the Qasim Ali Khan Mosque in Peshawar.
Due to disagreements between the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee and the unofficial committee led by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, Eidul Fitr is sometimes celebrated on two separate days in Pakistan.
The “birth of the moon” was predicted to occur on Thursday, April 20 around 9:15 am Pakistan time, according to Khalid Ijaz Mufti, secretary-general of the Ruet-e-Hilal Research Council.
In addition, on the evening of the 29th of Ramadan, the moon should be older than 19 hours in order to be sighted. But it was less than 10 hours everywhere in Pakistan, and the government has declared a five-day vacation in honor of Eid. A notice from the Ministry of the Interior states that the break will start this Friday [today] and last through Tuesday, April 25.
However, Saudia Arabia and Dubai are celebrating Eid ul Fitr today on the 21st of April 2023.
Neemopani wishes you all advance Eid Mubarak. May you all have a wonderful and exciting Eid.
