Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry was critical of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s decision to celebrate Eid on June 4, terming it an “embarrassment.”
Chaudhry in conversation with Geo News said it was impossible to see the Shawwal moon on June 3.
The KP government made the announcement to celebrate Eid today (June 4) after taking into account testimonies of moon sighting from all over the province, according to provincial Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai.
The minister said that the government received a number of testimonies for Shawwal moon sighting from the erstwhile Federal Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA).
The self-proclaimed Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of Masjid Qasim Ali Khan had announced to celebrate Eid today in light of the moon sightings testimonies from several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Shahab-ud-din Popalzai, the chief cleric, claimed to make the decision in light of 25 witnesses received from ‘all over the provinces’.
Earlier this week, Chaudhry said there should be no doubt that Eid-ul-Fitr will be on June 5. The federal minister has launched the country’s first moon-sighting website and Hijri calendar and announced the date of Eid-ul-Fitr based on the lunar observations.
