No promise to celebrate start of Ramzan, Eid on same day: Mufti Popalzai

PESHAWAR (Web Desk) - Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai on Tuesday said that he could not promise that Eid and Ramzan would be celebrated on the same day across the country.

According to details, Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Yousuf chaired a meeting of  the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) ulema (religious scholars), who told him about their grievances with the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

Sardar Yousuf said that the government, in line with the proposals of the Senate, wanted Eid and Ramazan to be celebrated on the same day across the country, which is why it had decided to hold a meeting with religious scholars in KP.

Mufti Popalzai –an influential cleric from Masjid Qasim Khan hinted that he would only consider eye witness accounts for moon-sightings on Sunday, 28 Shaban.

Popalzai said that the central committee holds no religious authority, adding that he would welcome any evidence for moon-sightings even if a meeting for this purpose was not held.

Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousuf, however, assured Mufti Popalzai that the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee would not make the announcement of moon sighting until evidence from Peshawar was collected.