'Missing' Mufti Popalzai apparently in Dubai

Images of the cleric on board an airplane and his air ticket emerge on social media


Sehrish Wasif June 24, 2017
Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai of Masjid Qasim Ali Khan. PHOTO: File

ISLAMABAD: The sudden disappearance of Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai of Masjid Qasim Peshawar — the man responsible for the nation usually celebrating two Eids — a few days before Eidul Fitr has surprised many and some even thought he had been abducted but it appears that he is safe and sound in Dubai.

With the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee all set to hold its Eid moon-sighting meeting in Peshawar on Sunday, Popalzai's disappearance had created curiosity among many and certain religious parties were even worried about his safety.

Popalzai is known for stirring up a controversy when it is time for the sighting of the Ramazan and Shawwal moon, resulting in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa (K-P) and Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) usually celebrating Eid earlier than the rest of the country.

Celebrating Eid on 25th ‘will be un-Islamic’, declare scholars

As the controversy emerged on Saturday, some thought that Popalzai had been abducted while others believed that he had been placed under house arrest by the government or arrested by police. There was also the theory that he had been sent abroad on a trip in a move by the government to celebrate Eid in the country on the same day.

However, images of the cleric on board an airplane and his ticket, which shows that he left for Dubai on June 22 and will return on August 2, were soon shared on social media, putting an end to the mystery of Popalzai's sudden disappearance.

Mufti Popalzai's air ticket. PHOTO: Express

But questions still remain. Did someone send Popalzai to Dubai or did  he actually choose to go.

“We have no clue where is he or who has sent him to Dubai," an official in the Ministry of Religious Affairs said, requesting not to be named. "Maybe he has gone to Saudi Arabia to perform umrah. Although, we were looking forward to meeting him on Sunday in Peshawar.”

The official said if Popalzai announced that Eid would be observed on Sunday in K-P and Fata, then the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meeting in Peshawar would be cancelled.

“The moon-sighting meeting will be shifted to Islamabad for Sunday in that case," he added.

Moon controversy: Central committee’s sitting in Peshawar likely to be ‘fruitless’

He maintained that the Ministry of Religious Affairs had decided to hold the meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee in Peshawar this year just to put an end to the moon-sighting controversy that engulfed the country every year.

"The committee has invited Mufti Popalzai to the Peshawar meeting as well, but if he decides to observe Eid on Sunday, the Peshawar meeting would be of no use," he added.

“If they [Popalzai and his own committee] will celebrate Eid on June 25, then it means that the government has failed to resolve the moon-sighting controversy."

When The Express Tribune contacted Prof Mufti Muhammad Muneebur Rehman, the chairman of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, he seemed to be still unhappy with the media over an incident last year wherein he had scolded media personnel over reporting moon-sighting testimonies before he had formally made an announcement in that connection.

"I don't have anything to say or don't even believe media reports about the moon-sighting," he said.

K-P government spokesperson Shah Farman said Popalzai had not been arrested by the provincial government unlike the rumours spread on social media and the cleric was "sitting in Dubai".

Earlier, a member of Popalzai’s committee told The Express Tribune that the cleric went to Islamabad for a meeting on June 22 and had not returned to Peshawar. “We don’t know about his whereabouts but the committee fears that he may be arrested by the federal or the provincial government,” he added.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) spokesperson Maulana Abdul Jalil maintained that besides Popalzai, Maulana Khairul Bashar, a leader of his party and a member of the cleric's committee, had also been arrested.

"The JUI-F condemns the arrest of Mufti Popalzai and Maulana Khairul Bashar and demands their immediate release,” Jalil said in a statement.

With additional input from Izhar Ullah in Peshawar

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