Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Thursday, May 13, in Pakistan, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee announced on Wednesday.
A meeting of the committee took place under the chair of Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad in Islamabad.
In a press conference, Azad said testimonies were received from Qilla Pasni in Balochistan, Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh’s Mirpur, among other areas.
Azad urged people to observe safety precautions during Eid and play their part in curbing the spread of coronavirus.
The announcement was made after a long wait, at 11:30pm.
As time drew close to 11 in the night, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi urged the nation to be patient, promising that the decision will be announced “soon”.
He said that the decision will be “in line with the Shariah”.
The zonal committees in Sukkur, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta ended their meetings earlier in the evening, declaring that the moon could not be sighted in the three cities.
In Peshawar, the zonal RHC meeting was held at the Auqaf Hall under the chair of Maulana Ehsaan, the chief of the Peshawar zonal committe and went on longer.
Maulana Ishaq, Qadri Abdul Rauf and Mufti Fazlullah Jan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Shah, Maulana Irshad Hussain and Maulana Abdul Baseer were also set to partake in the meeting.
The meteorological department in Peshawar said that due to an unclear atmosphere, there are slim chances of the moon being sighted in the city.
A local, unofficial committee, headed by Shahabuddin Popalzai claimed, however, that it has received 189 testimonies from several areas including Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Kohat.
Popalzai said that information regarding these testimonies has been forwarded to the zonal committee in Peshawar.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department had said that the crescent moon will be visible when it is 20 hours and 40 minutes old.
It added that in Pakistan there is no area where the moon coincides with this age, indicating the possibility that it may not be sighted today.
Officials from the meteorological department, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and the Ministry of Science and Technology also attended the central committee meeting.
The RHC chairman had stated his resolve to ensure that Eid is celebrated on the same day throughout Pakistan when he was appointed to the post.
Source GEO NEWS
