K-P breaks tradition, observes Eid with country

Festival to be observed in uniformity, cleric arrested for jumping the gun

PESHAWAR: Maulvi Syed Badshah Muhammad was arrested for announcing Eid prayers on Tuesday. The cleric in Asori Darra area of Warai in Upper Dir went against the official decision to observe Eid on the same day across the country.

An official of Warai police station told The Express Tribune Badshah was arrested for violating a section of the Ehtram Ramazan Ordinance.

With the combined efforts of the provincial and federal governments, the issue of sighting the moon and observing Eid on different days seems to have been resolved. Both the Centre and the province are making all-out efforts to ensure the day is celebrated at the same time through the country.

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani told The Express Tribune officials were still in touch with Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf so that the Centre establishes contact with the Qasim Ali Khan mosque in Peshawar. The aim is to ensure there are witnesses and that their testimonies are accepted.



Ghani, who is also special assistant to the chief minister, said all possible efforts have been made to ensure there is no controversy over Eid.

Much controversy has surrounded moon sightings over the years and particularly in K-P. Here, the local moon sighting committee, of Masjid Qasim Ali Khan, led by Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, sits prior to the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee every year. For many years, Ramazan and Eid have been observed in parts of the province a day before the rest of the county, based on the announcement from Popalzai.

This time, however, there seems to be some uniformity.

A source in the Peshawar deputy commissioner’s office says they have kept a tight check on advance celebrations, especially among Afghan nationals. However, the office has officially denied any such activity, saying people can celebrate the occasion according to their wishes.

Observers said efforts this year will lead to celebrations on the same day. Yousaf, on May 31, reached the Auqaf Hall with the mission of convincing Popalzai to observe the religious occasion on the same day.

Professor Ghulam Zahid Jan, who teaches at Government Postgraduate College Timergara, lauded the efforts of the government to resolve the matter. Meanwhile, Yousaf told participants of the meeting there was a communication gap between the federal and provincial governments in the past.

However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government has decided to resolve the controversy by establishing the Ulema Council, he said. The K-P government moved a resolution in the provincial assembly last month to observe religious occasions on the same day as the Centre. It was passed unanimously. After meeting the federal minister, Popalzai’s committee did not convene a meeting to decide when to observe Ramazan.

In the same moot, Popalzai voiced his dissatisfaction with the central committee which, according him, did not accept testimonies from K-P’s people. Yousaf pledged the central committee will be asked to resolve this matter. Commenting over the development, political analyst Dr Khadim Hussain told The Express Tribune the credit for this agreement goes to Pakistanis who always targeted the provincial and federal government for creating this confusion year in and year out.

“The masses have actually compelled K-P and the federal government to sit on the same table and resolve the controversy.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2016.