Ruet-i-Hilal Committee to meet today for Shawwal moon sighting

The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee will meet in Islamabad later today to spot the Shawwal moon and ascertain whether Eidul Fitr — which marks the end of Ramazan — will fall on Wednesday or Thursday. The central moon-sighting body will meet at the roof of the Federal Secreta­riat’s Kohsar Block in Islamabad, while meetings of zonal and district Ruet-i-Hilal committees will be held at their respective headquarters concurrently. The meeting will be chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, and attended by the members of the Ruet-i-Hilal Commit­tee, as well as officials from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Suparco, and the Ministry of Science and Technology. Multiple countries across the world will celebrate Eidul Fitr on Wednesday (tomorrow) after the crescent was not sighted on Monday. Pakistan will also celebrate Eid with the rest of the world if the committee manages to spot the new moon today. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait will celebrate Eid tomorrow. Simi­larly, Australia has also announced that Eid will be observed on Wednesday. A day ago, the PMD had said that there was a “chance” of spotting the moon today. It said the weather was expected to be partly cloudy or fair in most of the country. A day earlier, the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee had requ­es­ted citizens to share any information regarding sightings of the moon with the committees in their respective areas. Talking to Dawn, Maulana Azad had said that extensive meetings and discussions were held with clerics and religious groups across the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All groups who had apprehensions with the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee in the past were taken on board and it is unlikely that any cleric would form their private moon sighting committee, he had said. In the past, different parts of the country have observed Eid on different dates owing to differences in moon-sighting evidence and non-adherence to the Central Ruet-i-Hilal committee’s diktat. Most notably, Peshawar’s Mufti Shahabudin Popalzai would often announce Eid in KP a day ahead of the rest of the country. In 2022, the country saw Eid being celebrated on three different dates in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa and the rest of the country. A similar situation occurred in 2012, when the residents of the then-tribal areas celebrated Eid on August 18, KP announced Eid on Aug 19 and the rest of the country celebrated on Aug 20.